President Biden to discuss COVID-19 and coordinating vaccine effort worldwide, in G7 summit

President Biden will be addressing as president for the first time and ​it will be the first meeting of the G7 nations since last April. In the meeting, President Biden will speak virtually to the Group of Seven economic summit this week to ​discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, coordinating the worldwide vaccine effort, rebuilding the global economy and countering China’s expanding influence, the White House said.

The web conferencing will be hosted by the United Kingdom, and will include the leaders of France, Germany, Canada, Japan and Italy. Members of the European Union are also expected to attend.

According to the statement released on Sunday, “​​this virtual engagement with leaders of the world’s leading democratic market economies will provide an opportunity for President Biden to discuss plans to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic, and rebuild the global economy,” the White House said .

The focus of Biden’s comments will be on vaccine production and distribution, “​as well as continued efforts to mobilize and cooperate against the threat of emerging infectious diseases by building country capacity and establishing health security financing,” they further added.

The president, who has introduced a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package in Congress, will address a world economy weakened by the pandemic, focusing on the ​”importance of all industrialized countries maintaining economic support for the recovery​.​”