G7 Leaders Take On Covid And Climate
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published June 13, 2021 | 01:50 AM
Carbis Bay, United Kingdom, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Jun, 2021 ) :G7 leaders on Saturday confronted the threat of future pandemics as the elite club of wealthy nations advertised a newfound Western unity at its first physical summit since 2019.
After an informal evening get-together -- featuring a Royal Air Force aerobatics display, beach barbecue, firepit marshmallows and a Cornish troupe singing sea shanties -- the leaders were to wrap up their three-day summit on Sunday.
At their concluding session in Cornwall, southwest England, US President Joe Biden and his colleagues were set to promise more financial support for developing countries on the sharp edge of climate change.
The G7 has been rallying behind collective action on the planetary crisis in the buildup to the UN's COP26 climate summit in Scotland in November.
Such action was unthinkable under former president Donald Trump, but Biden is touting a message of revived US leadership on his first foreign tour.
"We're on the same page," Biden told reporters as he met French President Emmanuel Macron on the summit sidelines, pushing to rally the West against a resurgent China and recalcitrant Russia.
Asked if other G7 leaders agreed with him about a US diplomatic renaissance, Biden pointed to Macron, who replied: "Definitely." - 'Build back better' - Promising to "collectively catalyse" hundreds of billions of infrastructure investment for low- and middle-income countries, the G7 leaders said they would offer a "values-driven, high-standard and transparent" partnership.
Their "Build Back Better World" (B3W) project is aimed squarely at competing with China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose nation has huge investments in China, called it an "important initiative" that was much needed in infrastructure-poor Africa.
Britain meanwhile hailed G7 agreement on the "Carbis Bay Declaration" -- a series of commitments to curb future pandemics after Covid-19 wrecked economies and claimed millions of lives around the world.
The collective steps include slashing the time taken to develop and license vaccines, treatments and diagnostics for any future disease to under 100 days, while reinforcing global surveillance networks.
The G7 -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- will formally publish the pact on Sunday, alongside the summit communique containing further details on the B3W.
- Covid vaccines - "The #CarbisBayDeclaration marks a proud and historic moment for us all," British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesuswelcomed the health pact.
The G7 leaders are also expected to pledge to donate one billion vaccine doses to poor countries this year and next -- although campaigners say the rollout is much too slow to end the crisis now.
After briefing the leaders in Cornwall, Tedros said he had set them the challenge of vaccinating at least 70 percent of the world's population by their next summit in Germany in 2022.
"We welcome the generous announcement made by G7 nations about donations of vaccines but we need more and we need them faster," he told reporters. "Immediate donations are vital." Aid charity Oxfam said the declaration "does nothing to address the fundamental problems that are preventing vaccines being accessible to the vast majority of humanity".
- 'Concrete action' - The G7 was joined Saturday by the leaders of Australia, South Africa and South Korea, with India taking part remotely, for a wide-ranging discussion about foreign policy challenges.
The regimes of Belarus and Myanmar are among those in the G7's sights.
- Putin weighs in - The US president will also seek to address frayed relations with Moscow, in particular over its cyber activity.
Most of the G7 leaders will reconvene Monday in Brussels for a NATO meeting, before Biden heads on to his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Geneva, vowing to deliver a blunt message about Russian behaviour.
In a rare interview with US media released Friday, Putin voiced hope that Biden would be less impetuous than Trump, who notoriously sided with the Russian leader against the views of his own intelligence chiefs.
"It is my great hope that, yes, there are some advantages, some disadvantages, but there will not be any impulse-based movements on behalf of the sitting US president," Putin told NBC news.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
Earthquake jolts Karachi
Sindh minister orders operation after attack on police in Ghotki
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
More Stories From Miscellaneous
-
PDMA predicts gusty wind, rain with thunder, hails
1 day ago -
Iranian president Raisi given guard of honour at PM House
3 days ago -
Intellectuals, writers accolades Naseer Mirza on his literary contribution
3 days ago -
Bahawalpur Adabi Sangat hosts memorable mushaira
4 days ago -
Cattle farming vital to alleviate poverty in rural areas
4 days ago -
Pakistan: A land of tourism, archeological wonders
4 days ago
-
Transforming education sector: from job hunters to job creators
6 days ago -
Amjad Bobby remembered on 19th death anniversary for timeless contributions to music
10 days ago -
Legendary actor Nadeem’s 26 films released on Eid-ul-Fitr days in 50 years
10 days ago -
Besant Hall Cultural Centre to celebrate evening with Sanam Marvi on 26 April
11 days ago -
Radio Bahawalpur presents program “Eidi Shidi”
14 days ago -
Radio Bahawalpur to broadcast Eid programs
16 days ago