| British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak made the call after a virtual meeting with his counterparts and central bank governors from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States. Photo: Jessica Taylor / AFP |
The United Kingdom said Friday (28) that the Group of Seven, a group of the seven largest economies on the planet, must work for “global economic and environmental recovery” from the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The summit of heads of state and government is expected to be held within two weeks.
British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak made the call after a virtual meeting with his counterparts and central bank governors from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
The G7 finance ministers, whose presidency this year comes from the United Kingdom, will meet in London from 4-5 June, ahead of the June 11-13 summit in southwest England.
“I look forward to holding the meeting next week to continue working together to support employment and ensure global economic and environmental recovery,” he said.
Sunak, whose country will also host the UN Climate Summit in November, COP26, called on the Group of Seven to “make the fight against climate change a priority in economic and financial policy.”
Sunak said that the richest group of countries in the world have an “important role” in “leading the global economy, which has suffered in the following stages of economic recovery” after the global health crisis.
G7 ministers have practically met in the past few months due to coronavirus restrictions.
However, next week’s finance ministers ‘meeting will be held in London in person, as was the foreign ministers’ meeting two weeks ago.
The ministers will be accompanied by representatives of the European Commission, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
A week ago, the Group of Seven nations agreed to end public financing for coal-fired power plants later this year, as well as to “decarbonize” electricity supplies in the 1930s.
The June summit will be the first since Joe Biden became president of the United States. The global response to Covid-19 and climate change is expected to be the main topic of the meeting.
“Creator. Devoted pop culture specialist. Certified web fanatic. Unapologetic coffee lover.”