As summit ends, G-7 urged to provide on vaccines, climate
The Band of Seven leaders try to end their first summit in 2 yrs with a punchy group of promises Sunday, including vaccinating the world against corona virus, making huge corporations pay their fair share of taxes and tackling climate change with a mixture of technology and money.
They would like to show that international cooperation is back following the upheavals caused both by the pandemic and the unpredictability of former US President Donald Trump. And they want to convey that the club of wealthy democracies - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the uk and the United States - is a much better friend to poorer nations than authoritarian rivals such as for example China. But it was uncertain how firm the group's commitments will be on corona virus vaccines, the economy and the surroundings when the leaders issue their final communiqué. Also unclear was whether each of the leaders would back the United States' call to chastise China for repressing its Uyghur minority and other abuses.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the summit's host, wanted the three-day meeting to fly the flag for a "Global Britain," his government's initiative to provide the midsized country outsized influence in terms of global problem-solving.
Brexit cast a shadow over that goal through the summit on the coast of southwest England. EU leaders and US President Joe Biden voiced concerns about issues with new UK-EU trade rules that contain heightened tensions in Northern Ireland.
