UK to host G7 foreign ministers meeting and ASEAN in December

The British government has announced that it will host a face-to-face meeting of foreign ministers from the Group of Seven industrialized countries in December. It has also been said that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will be invited to attend for the first time.

The summit according to the UK government will be held from December 10 to 12 in the city of Liverpool.

This will be the second in-person gathering of foreign ministers in the United Kingdom this year. The UK holds the rotating presidency of the G7 in 2021.

The British government says the invitation to ASEAN countries is “a sign of the UK’s growing Indo-Pacific tilt.”

Britain has already indicated that Myanmar’s military government, which seized power in a coup earlier this year and continues to oppress civilian protesters, will not be welcome to attend the G7 meeting in person.

The foreign ministers are expected to discuss economic resilience after the coronavirus pandemic, human rights, and China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she hopes to host a meeting that will help build a “worldwide network of liberty that advances freedom, democracy and enterprise and encourages like-minded countries to work together from a position of strength.”