MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th February, 2021) The G7 leaders will discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, cooperation to ensure the equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines around the globe and other issues during the Friday virtual meeting.
G7 includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The G7 leaders will gather for the first time since April 2020, and the meeting will be hosted by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson as part of London's G7 presidency. Notably, US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi will represent their countries at the G7 leaders' meeting for the first time.
The meeting will mainly focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and discuss how the world's major democracies can coordinate their work to ensure fair access to vaccines, prevent future pandemics and "build back better from coronavirus," according to the UK government.
"The [UK] Prime Minister [Johnson] will use the meeting, which will also be US President Biden's first major multilateral engagement, to call for leaders to work together on a joined-up global approach to pandemics that brings an end to the nationalist and divisive politics that marred the initial response to coronavirus," the UK government said in a statement.
The UK has named the "international pandemic preparedness" as its major priority during its G7 Presidency and vowed to work with partners to implement Johnson's five-point plan on preventing future pandemics.
The plan, announced at the United Nations General Assembly in 2020, "includes a worldwide network of zoonotic research hubs, developing global manufacturing capacity for treatments and vaccines, the design of a global pandemic early warning system, the agreement of global protocols for a future health emergency and the reduction of trade barriers."
German government spokesman Steffen Seibert has confirmed that Chancellor Angela Merkel will participate in the Friday meeting, adding that the G7 leaders will talk about the response to the pandemic and economic recovery.
Meanwhile, the White House said that Biden will focus on the pandemic and also discuss the collective response to economic challenges posed by China during the G7 meeting.
