London: G7 leaders are expected to launch a global anti-pandemic action plan on Saturday to ensure a devastation such as the one caused by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis will never be repeated in the future.
The leaders are in the coastal resort of Carbis Bay in Cornish during the three-day G7 summit that kicked off on Friday. This is the first personal meeting since the start of the pandemic early last year.
Following a special session on Saturday, leaders will issue the Carbis Bay Declaration, “which sets out a plan to try to prevent the human and economic devastation caused by Covid-19”, Reports the BBC.
Some of the measures under the statement reduce the time it takes to develop and license vaccines, treatments and diagnoses for any future illness to less than 100 days; strengthening global surveillance networks and capacity for genomic sequencing; and support for the reform and strengthening of the World Health Organization (WHO).
On Saturday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus will also take part.
According to the BBC report, the statement is expected to “contain recommendations from a report by a group of international experts from across industry, government and scientific institutions”.
After the three-day event was inaugurated on Friday by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, the leaders attended a dinner with Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family.
While posing for a group photo, the queen jokingly said, “Are you supposed to look like you’re enjoying yourself?”
To which Johnson, the host of the Summit, said: “We enjoyed ourselves – despite the appearance.”
The G7 is made up of the seven largest so-called advanced economies in the world: Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Charles Michel, President of the European Council, were also present.
On Saturday, the leaders of Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa are also invited as guests.
Source: Telangana Today