G7 refers to the ‘Group of Seven’ and is a global event where government leaders from some of the world’s developed countries come together annually to participate and build a prosperous future.
Since the 1970s, all countries, namely France, Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan, the US and the UK, have been discussing key issues such as health-related emergencies, economic issues and the climate crisis.
Until 2014, it was known as the G8 summit, which also included Russia, but it was removed from the group due to its annexation of Crimea. This year’s G7 summit is the 47th meeting scheduled to take place between June 11 and June 13. European council’s chief Charles Michel and President of the commission Ursula von der Leyen will also participate in it, with the UK welcoming leaders from countries like India, Australia, South Korea and South Africa as guests.
Representatives to attend the G7 summit are France President Emmanuel Macron, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel, Italy Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Japan Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, USA President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The UK will conduct numerous meetings, and its presidency would take recommendations from experts on different sectors such as Women 7, Youth 7, Business 7, Civil Society 7, Labour 7 and Science 7.
The emphasis will be on worldwide trade, promoting the international system against upcoming pandemics and resolving the climate crisis. UK PM Boris Johnson said he wants to witness outcomes from the G7 and COP26 climate conversations to “build back better” from the novel coronavirus pandemic and “create a greener, more prosperous future”.
Following will be the meetings to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic at the summit:
- The Finance, Trade and Digital and Technology Ministers’ meetings will build back better by fostering future prosperity and looking for free trade.
- The Climate and Environment Ministers’ meetings will build back better by shielding the planet against all threats to it.
- The Health Ministers’ meeting will build back better by safeguarding people’s health and international resilience against upcoming pandemics.
- The Foreign, Development and Interior Ministers’ meetings will build back better by working on shared values such as democracy and human rights.
Various poorest countries across the globe are in a dilemma to choose between yielding the debts and assisting the communities to recover from the novel coronavirus. CAFOD (Catholic Agency for Overseas Development) has requested G7 leaders to back the poorest nations by cancelling all debt transactions owed by low-income countries, which could help those countries by using that money for recovering and rebuilding from the coronavirus pandemic. This should consist of debts owed to private lend providing bodies.
According to Campaign Manager Liam Finn, “Boris Johnson has a crucial opportunity this year to set the tone for how the world rebuilds from the pandemic.
CAFOD supporters will be demanding he uses that opportunity to ensure that people worldwide are included in the plans for the recovery – not just those living in the world’s wealthiest countries.”
He added, “The Prime Minister has an obligation to make sure that any recovery from the pandemic genuinely builds a ‘better normal’ rather than reinforcing the problems of the past.”
All countries look forward to Johnson as the UK hosts two events with prominent leaders for ensuring their success by placing the nations on the path of recovery amid the pandemic.
