Washington, Jun 12 The leaders of the G7 nations have agreed at the ongoing summit in the United Kingdom to launch a new global infrastructure initiative to aid the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and counter China’s ambitions, the White House said on Saturday.
“President Biden and G7 partners agreed to launch the bold new global infrastructure initiative Build Back Better World (B3W), a values-driven, high-standard, and transparent infrastructure partnership led by major democracies to help narrow the $40+ trillion infrastructure need in the developing world, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the White House said in a statement.
The White House added that President Joe Biden discussed the G7’s “strategic competition with China” at the ongoing summit at Carbis Bay, in the southwestern English county of Cornwall.
Through the new initiative, the G7 nations committed to coordinate with the private sector to prioritize investments in four key areas: climate, health, digital technology, and gender equity and equality, according to the statement.
“In announcing this partnership, the United States and its G7 partners are expressing a unified vision for global infrastructure development,” the White House said.
The three-day G7 summit began on Friday. Heads of state are expected to agree on a range of other measures, including the donation of 1 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses to low-income countries.
