G-7 leaders agree on vaccines, China & 15% global MNCs’ tax
India is G-7’s ‘natural ally’, says Modi in virtual speech
Carbis Bay (England), June 13: Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy nations staked their claim Sunday to lead the world out of the Covid-19 pandemic and crisis, pledging more than one billion coronavirus vaccine doses to poorer nations, vowing to help developing countries grow while fighting climate change and backing a minimum tax on multinational corporations.
At the group’s first faceto-face meeting in two years, the leaders dangled promises of support for global health, green energy, infrastructure and education -- all to demonstrate that international cooperation is back after the upheavals caused by the pandemic and the unpredictability of former US President Donald Trump.
During their three-day summit in southwest England, the G-7 leaders wanted to convey that the club of wealthy democracies is a better friend to poorer nations than ■
authoritarian rivals such as China.
“This isn’t about imposing our values on the rest of the world,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters at the end of the seaside summit on the rugged Cornwall coast. “What we as the G-7 need to do is demonstrate the benefits of democracy and freedom and human rights to the rest of the world.”
US President Joe Biden, on his first foreign trip as America’s leader, said it was an “extraordinary, collaborative and productive meeting" that showed “America’s back in the business of leading the world alongside nations who share our most deeply in a held virtual values”.
Meanwhile, address to the G-7 summit, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Sunday that India was a “natural ally” for the G-7 countries in defending their shared values from a host of threats stemming from authoritarianism, terrorism and violent extremism, disinformation and economic coercion. Speaking at a session on “open societies and open economies”, Mr Modi highlighted the civilisational commitment of India to democracy, freedom of thought and liberty, the external affairs ministry said in New Delhi.
The PM underscored the vulnerabilities inherent in open societies and called on tech companies and social media platforms to ensure a safe cyber environment for their users. —