Monday, 14 June 2021 -
The 47th edition of the G7 Summit that was held in Cornwall, the UK between 11th and 13th June finally wrapped up. The G7 nations released a joint statement in the form of a Summit Communique that outlined their deliberations and subsequent commitments going forward.
And while the communique essentially reiterated the G7 nations' position to tackle the pandemic, mitigate climate change, and revitalize economic recoveries, they affirmed their commitment to multilateralism and also alluded to a cold war against China. So, if you were caught up somewhere and inadvertently missed the proceedings, here are the key talking points from this year's G7 Summit:
The Ongoing Covid-19 Pandemic
In their communique, the leaders acknowledged the impacts of the pandemic to the societies globally and pledged to take tangible measures that will include:
Bolstering global health security by strengthening and supporting institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO).
Invest in people and tackle inequalities as the pandemic impacted societies unevenly.
Ending the pandemic by 2022 by donating safe and effective vaccines enough to vaccinate at least 60% of the world’s population. In this regard, they recognized the necessity to speed up vaccine production and delivery and subsequently committed to sharing 870 million doses by the year's end.
Supporting the COVAX and the ACT – Accelerator programs with $8.6 billion as a Global Responsibility and International Action, and as well boost the supply of PPEs, test kits, and raw materials.
Post-Pandemic Economic Recovery and Trade
The G7 leaders stated that they had donated over $12 trillion in liquidity measures and fiscal support to help address financial challenges, and even pledged more.
They endorsed and committed to a fair tax system globally with a ceiling of 15% minimum tax, aimed at levelling the playing field that is expected to raise more in investment revenues.
Suspending or entirely getting rid of unnecessary trade restrictions to ease supply chains for industries globally.
The group pledged to enhance the efficiency of the multilateral trade system by reforming the rulebook of the World Trade Organization.
Commitment to Democracy and Open Societies
The G7 leaders referenced the need to restore values in our increasingly authoritarian regimes. They pledged support for models that support open societies, while strongly condemning bad autocracies. They committed to strengthen the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism to compete against cyber-attacks and threats that undermine democracy. And in this regard accused China of disinformation and promotion of unfair trade policies that threatened transparency.
They called on China to respect the fundamental principles of human rights and freedoms, especially the autonomy in Hongkong, despite the existence of the Sino-British Joint Declaration. And as per the communique, the leaders emphasized the need for a coordinated global pressure against China.
The G7 communique also called on Russia to stop engaging in destabilizing behavior that malign existing democracies as seen in Ukraine. The situations in North Korea, Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia are also featured in their deliberations.
Climate Change
The issue of Global Warming has been a sticking point and, as you can imagine, featured prominently in the discussion. Climate change and its impacts globally was discussed stressed that 2021 should be the turning point for the planet.
The Bottom Line
With the UK, Canada, Japan, EU, and now the United States back at the table, leaders pledged to quit the nationalistic and unilateralism that we have witnessed in the past four years of the Trump administration and work together towards a common global goal of tackling the pandemic, climate change and creating a suitable environment for the post-pandemic recovery.
(Written and edited by: The Decision Maker team)
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