DM Monitoring
LONDON: Group of Seven countries will provide 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses over the next year and work with the private sector, the G20 and other countries to increase the contribution over months to come, according to an almost finalized draft of the communiqué.
“The commitments since we last met in February 2021 including here in Carbis Bay provide for 1 billion doses over the next year,” said the communiqué, seen by Reuters.
“We will work together with the private sector, the G20 and other countries to increase this contribution over the months to come,” the communique said.
Agencies said the draft had been largely finalized by diplomats who worked late into Saturday night to agree most of the text, though they said parts of the draft could change over coming hours.
There were few disagreements over the communiqué, which is going through final drafting, though Japan pushed for a tougher line on China, a diplomatic source said. The G7 said in the draft that the vaccine donations built on exports from domestic production with at least 700 million doses exported or to be exported this year, of which at least 50% have gone to non G7 countries.
