UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to host fellow G7 leaders for a virtual meeting on February 19 ahead of its presidency of a summit in June of the Group of Seven countries including the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US, Downing Street said on Sunday.
The virtual meeting, the first hosted by Johnson as part of the UK’s G7 Presidency this year and the first gathering of G7 leaders since April 2020, will bring together the world leaders to discuss how leading democracies can work together to ensure equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines around the world and prevent future pandemics.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the G7 Summit in Cornwall in June after India was invited as a guest country by the UK, alongside South Korea and Australia.
“The solutions to the challenges we face — from the colossal mission to get vaccines to every single country, to the fight to reverse the damage done to our ecosystems and lead a sustainable recovery from coronavirus — lie in the discussions we have with our friends and partners around the world,” said Johnson.
“Quantum leaps in science have given us the vaccines we need to end this pandemic for good. Now world governments have a responsibility to work together to put those vaccines to the best possible use. I hope 2021 will be remembered as the year humanity worked together like never before to defeat a common foe,” he said.