US President Donald Trump on Thursday held a video conference with leaders of the G-7 countries on the coronavirus pandemic during which they agreed to work together to prepare their economies to "re-open safely", the White House said.
"Going forward, G7 leaders tasked their ministers to work together to prepare all G7 economies to re-open safely and on a foundation that will allow the G7 nations to re-establish economic growth with more resilient health systems and trusted supply chains," the White House said in a readout of the meeting.
The meeting was chaired by President Trump. The G-7 countries - the US, Britain, France, Canada, Italy, Japan and Germany - represent 58 per cent of the global wealth and 46 per cent of the world's GDP. The European Union is an invitee to G-7.
During the meeting, the leaders reviewed the coordinated efforts to jointly combat the COVID-19 pandemic since their last meeting on March 16, 2020, and discussed next steps to restore health, safety, and prosperity, the White House said.
"G7 leaders agreed to remain committed to taking every necessary measure to ensure a strong and coordinated global response to this health crisis and the associated humanitarian and economic calamity and to launch a strong and sustainable recovery," it said.
"The leaders recognised that the G7 nations annually contribute more than a billion dollars to the World Health Organization (WHO), and much of the conversation centered on the lack of transparency and chronic mismanagement of the pandemic by the WHO, it said.
G-7 leaders called for a thorough review and reform process of the World Health Organisation.
The White House said G7 leaders also discussed efforts to pool their research and talent to combat COVID-19 by sharing all relevant epidemiologic data and emerging best practices, making research data and results publicly available, and providing access to the world's most powerful supercomputing resources.
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