<p>Britain said Saturday it will use the first leaders' meeting of its G7 presidency next week to seek more global cooperation on coronavirus vaccine distribution and post-pandemic recovery plans.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host G7 heads of state for a virtual meeting on Friday, their first gathering since April 2020 and US President Joe Biden's first major multilateral engagement since taking office last month.</p>.<p>They are meeting at a seaside retreat in Cornwall in southwestern England on June 11-13, after last year's gathering in the United States was shelved because of the pandemic.</p>.<p>Johnson is eager to boost Britain's post-Brexit profile and his own international standing, after criticism of his tactics during the country's fraught divorce from the European Union and his support for ex-US president Donald Trump.</p>.<p>He has vowed to focus his G7 presidency on better coordinating the international response to the pandemic, as well as climate change ahead of Britain hosting a UN conference on climate change, COP26, in November.</p>.<p>"The solutions to the challenges we face... lie in the discussions we have with our friends and partners around the world," Johnson said in a statement released late Saturday.</p>.<p>He added "quantum leaps in science" had helped produce the Covid-19 vaccines needed to end the pandemic, and that world governments now had a responsibility to work together to distribute them.</p>.<p>"I hope 2021 will be remembered as the year humanity worked together like never before to defeat a common foe," Johnson said.</p>.<p>Friday's virtual gathering will see him host the leaders of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, as well as the presidents of the European Council and the EU Commission.</p>.<p>Later in February, he will also chair a virtual meeting of the UN Security Council on the link between climate change and conflict -- the first time a UK leader has chaired such a session since 1992.</p>.<p>The discussions at the meeting will inform crucial action ahead of the UK-hosted COP26 Summit to be held November 1-12 in the Scottish city of Glasgow, his Downing Street Office said.</p>
<p>Britain said Saturday it will use the first leaders' meeting of its G7 presidency next week to seek more global cooperation on coronavirus vaccine distribution and post-pandemic recovery plans.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Boris Johnson will host G7 heads of state for a virtual meeting on Friday, their first gathering since April 2020 and US President Joe Biden's first major multilateral engagement since taking office last month.</p>.<p>They are meeting at a seaside retreat in Cornwall in southwestern England on June 11-13, after last year's gathering in the United States was shelved because of the pandemic.</p>.<p>Johnson is eager to boost Britain's post-Brexit profile and his own international standing, after criticism of his tactics during the country's fraught divorce from the European Union and his support for ex-US president Donald Trump.</p>.<p>He has vowed to focus his G7 presidency on better coordinating the international response to the pandemic, as well as climate change ahead of Britain hosting a UN conference on climate change, COP26, in November.</p>.<p>"The solutions to the challenges we face... lie in the discussions we have with our friends and partners around the world," Johnson said in a statement released late Saturday.</p>.<p>He added "quantum leaps in science" had helped produce the Covid-19 vaccines needed to end the pandemic, and that world governments now had a responsibility to work together to distribute them.</p>.<p>"I hope 2021 will be remembered as the year humanity worked together like never before to defeat a common foe," Johnson said.</p>.<p>Friday's virtual gathering will see him host the leaders of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, as well as the presidents of the European Council and the EU Commission.</p>.<p>Later in February, he will also chair a virtual meeting of the UN Security Council on the link between climate change and conflict -- the first time a UK leader has chaired such a session since 1992.</p>.<p>The discussions at the meeting will inform crucial action ahead of the UK-hosted COP26 Summit to be held November 1-12 in the Scottish city of Glasgow, his Downing Street Office said.</p>