UK to host G7 foreign, development ministers summit in Liverpool next month

The United Kingdom is set to host a summit of Foreign and Development Ministers from the G7 next month in the city of Liverpool, UK foreign office said on Sunday (local time).

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will welcome counterparts from the US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan and the EU over three days, from December 10-12.

The UK is holding the G7 Presidency in 2021 and this is the second in-person gathering of G7 Foreign Ministers this year, following May's meeting in London.

Countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will also attend the G7 Foreign Ministers' meetings for the first time, a sign of the UK's growing Indo-Pacific tilt. This attendance builds on the May meeting, which included representatives from Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa. These nations collectively represent a broader geographic spread of countries committed to reforming and safeguarding the international order in which economies can flourish, the UK foreign office said in a statement.

UK Foreign and Development Ministers will discuss a range of global issues, including economic resilience post-Covid, global health and human rights, it added.

The holding of the meeting in Liverpool comes after a series of global summits around the UK this year, including the COP climate summit in Glasgow this month, and the G7 Leaders' Summit hosted by the PM in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, in June.

Liverpool has been chosen due to its history as an iconic port city with a global outlook, strong ties around the world, and a thriving cultural, musical and sporting heritage, the statement said.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: "The meeting of G7 Foreign and Development Ministers in Liverpool next month is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the city to the world, highlighting the best of British culture, commerce and creativity. I will be hosting our friends and partners to discuss how we build closer economic, technology and security ties globally and deliver for the British people. I want us to 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."

Among the ASEAN Foreign Ministers due to attend are those from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, which the Foreign Secretary visited earlier this month, the statement added.