The G7 Foreign Ministers met in London May 3-5 for the first face-to-face meeting since the coronavirus pandemic. The foreign ministers of India, South Korea, South Africa and Brunei, chairman of ASEAN, were also invited to join in.
AFP said that against the backdrop of the coronavirus ravaging India, Britain is hosting senior diplomats from the wealthy world in preparation for the exit from the epidemic and the G7 summit in southwest England next month as light appears on the western horizon of the fight against the epidemic.
India, South Korea, South Africa and Brunei, the rotating chair of ASEAN, have been invited to London for the three-day talks.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump extended an invitation to South Korea to attend the G7 in June 2020, and Seoul immediately seized the opportunity.
AFP said the expanded G7 meeting in London will discuss the rising tensions with Russia and China, as well as the resumption of negotiations on the Iran nuclear deal. The subject of North Korea was also added. A few days after Joe Biden reviewed U.S. policy toward North Korea, Secretary of State Blinken, held separate talks with the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea at the hotel where he was staying.
South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong said, “We appreciate this opportunity to have an in-depth discussion with the United States after your policy review has come to its conclusion.” He praised Biden’s “very positive and open message” to Congress last week. President Biden said he would use “diplomacy and tough deterrence” to curb Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.
According to the State Department, Blinken and his Japanese counterpart, Toshimichi Motegi, expressed “shared concerns about North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs” during their meeting. They agreed to work together and with South Korea to move toward the “denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” according to a statement.
According to a previous disclosure from the British Foreign Office, U.S. Secretary of State John Blinken and British Foreign Secretary George Raab discussed the following agenda items: trade and commerce, China, Afghanistan and Iran. British Foreign Secretary Raab also said in a statement, “We will act to ensure equitable access to vaccines around the world, set global targets for girls’ education, and develop ambitious action on climate change and new measures to tackle famine.”
Also according to AFP, the G7 foreign ministers meeting will discuss topics including China, Iran, economic recovery, and combating fake news. London and Washington have often shown a united front against Beijing when it comes to the treatment of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang. The U.S. has defined Beijing’s crackdown on the Uighurs as “genocide.
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