the main G7 summit scheduled to be held in June, with the attendance of US President Joe Biden and other world leaders. This week’s summit was considered to be a golden opportunity for the Group of Seven leading industrial nations to resume face-face-diplomacy more than a year after the pandemic began, while also paving the way for the West to show a united front against threats from rivals China and Russia.
Images from the gathering on Tuesday highlighted the realities of diplomacy amid a global pandemic, as delegates were seen carefully spaced two metres apart, with plastic screen separating them.
According to British officials, while the Indian delegates remain in self-isolation, the meetings scheduled for Wednesday were carried out as planned, since none of the representatives from Delhi had visited Lancaster House, where the main summit was held. Meanwhile, Minister Jaishankar revealed on Twitter that he joined the ongoing G7 meeting virtually. “A cyber participation at the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting,” he said. “So far, yet so near.”
Although the Indian Foreign Minister was said to have met with British Home Secretary Priti Patel on Tuesday, however, she did not have to self-isolate since the meeting was held in line with COVID-19 regulations.
India is currently undergoing a record surge in COVID-19 infections, accounting for 46 per cent of the global cases and a quarter of global deaths reported last week. Although the South Asian nation is not a G7 member, it was invited by Britain for this week’s summit, along with South Korea, Australia and South Africa.
