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Smiling G7 leaders kick off summit with focus on coronavirus, climate change and China
- The leaders posed for a group photo on the Cornish coast in southern England to open the conclave
- It’s the first G7 after Donald Trump’s turbulent four years in office, where he bickered with long-term allies
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Group of Seven leaders braved drizzly beachside weather on the Cornish coast in southern England for a traditional “family” photo at the start of their annual summit, before the meeting formally got under way with a discussion on boosting the global economy after the pandemic.
This is the final G7 for Angela Merkel after 16 years as German Chancellor (she is stepping down after an election in September), risking the prospect of next year’s gathering in Germany being a male-only affair. She was first to walk out for the photo, standing on the front right of the podium.
Host UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stood smiling in the middle, flanked by France’s President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden.
Standing in the back row were Japan’s Yoshihide Suga and Italy’s Mario Draghi, attending for the first time as leaders.
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Still, Suga has attended many a G7 when he was a top aide to previous prime minister Shinzo Abe, while Draghi is a veteran of plenty of high-stake meetings from his time as president of the European Central Bank.
As the leaders moved off again, Macron walked close to Biden and put his arm around the US leader, leaning in for a chat as they strolled along the sandy boardwalk.
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It’s the first G7 after Donald Trump’s turbulent four years in office, where he bickered with long-term allies, pulled the US out of the Paris climate accords and Iran nuclear deal, and most famously ripped up the communique at the end of the 2018 meeting in Canada despite having earlier agreed to it.
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