G7 Summit 2021

Between 11 to 13 June, 2021 the leaders of seven nations — the U.S., Germany, the U.K., France, Canada, Japan and Italy — met in Cornwall in south-west England, marking the 47th edition of the “Group of Seven” summit.

About the Summit

• The theme of the summit was ‘Build Back Better World (B3W)’.
• UK has outlined four priority areas for its presidency:-
• leading the global recovery from coronavirus while strengthening resilience against future pandemics.
• promoting future prosperity by championing free and fair trade.
• tackling climate change and preserving the planet’s biodiversity.
• Championing shared values and open societies.
• G7 leaders underlined their commitment to a free, open and a rules-based Indo-Pacific and resolved to collaborate with partners in the region.

Carbis Bay Declaration

• Vaccine: The G7 pledged to secure a further one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses.
  • This will be either through donating surplus supplies or providing further finance to Covax.
  • The G7 also committed to invest $12 trillion in the combined pandemic recovery plan.
• Economy: The joint statement set out plans to reduce roadblocks to production in Africa.
  • On the controversial issue of enforced temporary waivers of patents, it said the leaders will support manufacturing in low income countries.
  • They would engage constructively on the issue of intellectual property waivers in discussions at the WTO.
  • The G7 also agreed to increase the special drawing rights (SDRs) in IMF of low-income countries by $100bn.

Significance for India

• India’s participation is seen as significant with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson describing the 11 participating countries as the “Democratic 11".
• The proposed G-11 grouping would recognise India’s place amongst the world’s richest nations, and acknowledge its global voice.