First Amendment: 12/06/2021 – 05:58

Carbis Bay (United Kingdom) (AFP)

G7 leaders get to work on Saturday, the second day of the summit in England, where they will sign a statement on health, pledging to take steps to ensure the global devastation caused by the coronavirus does not repeat.

After their Friday reunion after nearly two years, with friendly nudges and photos on the beach, and an afternoon reception with Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family in a huge greenhouse in Cornwall, the work schedule is promising. Intensification.

The heads of state and government of Germany, Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom will be joined by their counterparts from South Korea, South Africa and Australia, as well as United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

London, which chairs the club of the seven major economies this year, has also invited India, in an apparent effort to counter China’s influence in Asia and Africa, but its Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has not traveled to the UK but will actually participate. On the appointment due to the serious health situation in your country.

The complex post-Brexit situation in the British region of Northern Ireland should return to discussions during a long-awaited meeting between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU officials, Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen.

The conservative British leader will also speak with Frenchman Emmanuel Macron, who this week warned that agreements signed in the framework of Britain’s exit from the European Union are “not subject to renegotiation”.

Leaders will end their day in a more friendly atmosphere, sharing a sunset barbecue on the beach of Carbis Bay, the southwestern coastal town where the summit is celebrated, with marshmallows grilled over a wood fire and a cold cocktail on the menu.

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But before that, the response to the pandemic will be one of the great themes of the day.

Johnson hailed the start of the summit on Friday as a “big opportunity” to “rebuild better” and a “greener”, “fairer” and even “more feminine” world after the coronavirus.

– Avoid another health disaster –

Tras comprometerse a donar mil millones de vacunas a los países pobres para poner fin al covid-19 lo antes posible, los líderes quieren encontrar la manera de evitar que se repita una crisis similar, que ya ha matado a 3,7 millones de personas en everybody.

The G7 will sign the “Carbis Bay Declaration”, which Downing Street called “historic”, which will include a series of commitments to prevent another health disaster.

These include reducing the time needed to develop vaccines, treatments and diagnostics, strengthening health surveillance and reforming the World Health Organization to make it stronger.

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“I am proud for the first time today that the world’s leading democracies are united to ensure that we are not surprised again” in the face of a major health crisis, Johnson said.

The debate could also focus on the thorny issue of suspending patents on vaccines to speed production. The United States and France support, but Germany strongly opposes.

The second day of the rendezvous that will end on Sunday should have a marked diplomatic tone, with a defense of multilateralism and a review of international policy issues that will pay special attention to China and Russia.

The protectionist inclinations of some countries in the face of the epidemic and tensions in supply chains, symbolized by the global shortage of semiconductors, are worrying the G7.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Friday before the opening that the leaders intend to assert their “values” as liberal democracies, although this “will of course lead to a confrontation with Russia, but also, in some ways, with China”. summit.

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US President Joe Biden is pushing for a major infrastructure plan in Africa and Asia to counter China’s “New Silk Roads” initiative, which aims to fund major infrastructure projects to bolster its international influence.

© 2021 AFP