UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the G7 summit on Friday with a warning that countries must learn from their mistakes as they rebuild their economies after the pandemic.
Mr Johnson welcomed world leaders to the English coast as the summit got under way, with talks focusing on the economic outlook.
He told them it was vital not to "repeat the mistake of the last great crisis, the last great economic recession in 2008, when the recovery was not uniform across all parts of society".
"What risks being a lasting scar is that inequalities may be entrenched and we need to make sure that as we recover, we level up across our societies," he said.
Leaders including US President Joe Biden posed for a "family photo" on the beach at Carbis Bay, Cornwall, in a symbolic show of solidarity in their first in-person meeting since the start of the pandemic.
Both Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles also met the G7 leaders, with the Prince of Wales encouraging countries to "build back better" while also focusing on the fight against climate change.
On the sidelines, Mr Johnson discussed Iran and Libya in bilateral talks with G7 leaders to follow his discussions with Mr Biden on Thursday.
With Mr Biden on a mission to restore Washington's global standing and Mr Johnson looking to project British leadership after Brexit, both used the eve of the summit to make pledges on vaccine donation before G7 talks on the subject began.
The three-day summit is expected to end with an agreement to share one billion vaccine doses around the world by the end of 2022.
Health campaigners including former UK prime minister Gordon Brown said the target did not go far enough.
"If the best G7 leaders can manage is to donate one billion vaccine doses, then this summit will have been a failure," said Anna Marriott, health policy manager at Oxfam.
The summit began with tension in the air after leaders of the EU and France voiced frustration with Britain due to a standoff over Northern Ireland, which threatens to overshadow the summit.
EU leaders say they will confront Mr Johnson on the subject, while French President Emmanuel Macron told London that “nothing was renegotiable” on the contentious Northern Ireland Protocol.
The five EU leaders at the meeting – representing France, Germany, Italy and two top EU institutions – held a private meeting before the welcome ceremony to co-ordinate strategy.
Mr Johnson sought to play down the controversy by insisting that the UK, EU and US were all in agreement on protecting the peace deal at the heart of the dispute.
Britain said the leaders would discuss sharing technology and strengthening free trade to restore economic prosperity.
They will endorse the agreement made by finance ministers last week to establish a global minimum corporation tax, a senior White House official said.
Washington said a plan was on the table to reallocate $100 billion from the International Monetary Fund's war chest to help countries that are struggling to cope with the pandemic.
Mr Johnson said leaders would talk about how to build greener and fairer economies and suggested that economies could be rebuilt in a "more gender-neutral and perhaps a more feminine way".
The UK on Friday announced it was pledging £430 million ($608m) of new development aid for the World Bank-backed Global Partnership for Education (GPE).
Leaders were to hear from a special Gender Equality Advisory Council, which is recommending targeted pandemic recovery measures that take into account the needs of women and girls.
Former BBC journalist and council chairwoman Sarah Sands was to speak remotely to the leaders gathered at the Carbis Bay Hotel.
“Women and girls have astonishing potential. We challenge the G7 to unleash it,” she said before her address.
In bilateral discussions, Mr Johnson discussed China and Iran with Mr Trudeau and thanked him for his leadership after Iran shot down a Ukrainian plane last year, with many on-board Canadian citizens and residents.
They said the summit would be a "pivotal moment" for G7 leaders to "make concrete progress on major world issues".
In separate talks, Mr Johnson and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi promised to support a lasting ceasefire in Libya to "provide the foundation for a long-term peaceful democratic transition".
Royal charm offensive
After the first day of talks, Britain mounted a diplomatic charm offensive by drafting in senior members of the royal family for an evening reception.
Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge all attended the event at the Eden Project tropical garden.
At dinner, leaders were served traditional Cornish food including local cheeses and fish caught off the nearby coast.
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From left to right, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, France's President Emmanuel Macron, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Queen Elizabeth II, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi, European Council President Charles Michel and US President Joe Biden pose for a group photograph during a reception on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Cornwall. Reuters -
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, his wife Jill Biden and European Council President Charles Michel along with Britain's Queen Elizabeth attend a reception at the Eden Project in Cornwall. Reuters -
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson with his wife Carrie Johnson, right, along with Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Prince William with Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attend a reception in Cornwall. Reuters -
President of the European Council Charles Michel, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, chat at a drinks reception at The Eden Project. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she meets people from communities across Cornwall during an event celebrating The Big Lunch initiative at the Eden Project during the G7 Summit. Getty Images -
Queen Elizabeth II attends an event in celebration of The Big Lunch initiative at the Eden Project during the G7 Summit. Getty Images -
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer attend a drinks reception for Queen Elizabeth II and G7 leaders at the Eden Project during the G7 summit. Getty Images -
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, arrive for a drinks reception for G7 leaders at the Eden Project during the G7 summit. Getty Images -
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and wife Mariko Suga attend a reception for the G7 leaders at the Eden Project. AP -
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and wife Carrie Johnson arrive for a drinks reception during the G7 Summit. Getty Images -
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attends a reception for the G7 leaders at the Eden Project in Cornwall. AP -
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and husband Joachim Saue attend a reception for the G7 leaders at the Eden Project in Cornwall. AP -
French President Emmanuel Macron, Queen Elizabeth II, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden arrive at a drinks reception during the G7 Summit. Getty Images -
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson his wife Carrie Johnson share a joke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her husband Joachim Sauer during a reception for the G7 leaders at the Eden Project in Cornwall. AP -
US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrive at a drinks reception for Queen Elizabeth II and G7 leaders at the Eden Project during the G7 summit. Getty Images
In a dinner address, Prince Charlies said the pandemic provided "a crystal clear example" of how the global community can tackle crises when it comes together.
He urged the assembled leaders to adopt the same multilateralism in tackling the vexing problem of climate change.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we are doing it for the pandemic, so if you don’t mind me saying so, we must also do it for the planet," he said.
He cited his Sustainable Markets Initiative as a pathway for reconciling the interests of the planet and big finance by bringing together 300 global chief executives in a "coalition of the willing".
Earlier, the Duchess of Cambridge and US first lady Jill Biden visited an academy for young children in Cornwall.
Suga seeks support for Olympics
The summit is the first G7 meeting for Mr Biden, Mr Draghi and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, and almost certainly the last for German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Before leaving Tokyo, Mr Suga said he would seek support for his determination to hold a “safe and secure” Olympic Games beginning on July 23.
He said he would have “frank discussions” with G7 leaders on “regional issues” as well as Covid-19, climate change and the economy.
Japan wants the UK’s support in establishing a “free and open Indo-Pacific”, a region where Britain is looking to extend its influence after Brexit.
Vaccine diplomacy
The UK has invited four guests – South Africa, South Korea, India and Australia – who will be formally welcomed on Saturday.
South Africa says it will lobby in favour of an intellectual property waiver on vaccines in order to boost global production.
The US and France support the waiver, but Britain backs an EU counterproposal and Germany opposes the idea.
Rich nations are under pressure to share more doses with the world and redress a major imbalance in vaccination rates.
In terms of doses administered so far, the imbalance between the G7 and the planet's low-income countries, as defined by the World Bank, is 73 to one.
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People watch from the beach as two giant balloons, depicting US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, float on a dock in the harbour of Falmouth, Cornwall. AP Photo -
Freshly baked G7 Cornish pasties are placed in the window of a pastry shop in St Ives. AFP -
Climate activists dress in blue costumes as they demonstrate in St. Ives. AP Photo -
Protesters dressed as Pikachu characters demonstrate on Gyllyngvase Beach, calling on the Japanese government to stop burning coal by 2030, in Falmouth. Getty Images -
Members of the public visit the 'Mount Recyclemore' sculpture depicting G7 leaders at Sandy Acres, St Ives. EPA -
Extinction Rebellion protesters stage a "Stop Rearranging the Deckchairs" Titanic theatrical beach action in St Ives. Getty Images -
Members of the media work at desks screened-off due to Covid-19, in the media centre at Falmouth, Cornwall. AFP -
Oxfam activists with 'Big Head' caricatures of G7 leaders, during a protest at a beach near Falmouth. Reuters -
Officers from Britain's Metropolitan Police force sit on their jet ski as they patrol on the sea in St Ives. AFP -
Extinction Rebellion activists stage a "Wake-up Call" theatrical action in St Ives. Getty Images -
An incoming tide washes away a part of a giant beach sand artwork depicting the faces of the G7 leaders at Watergate Bay Beach, Newquay. Reuters -
An RAF Giraffe Agile Multi Beam Radar looks down on Gwithian Bay from its location in a car park near St Ives, England. The radar is a coastal surveillance and tracking radar which can monitor air targets and warn against incoming rocket, artillery and mortar rounds. Getty Images -
The motorcade of President Joe Biden is driven through Carbis Bay, Cornwall. AFP -
A caricature of Boris Johnson is pictured between the handle bars of a motorbike in Carbis Bay. AFP -
A local resident dressed as a chick, protests against the G7 summit in St Ives. AFP -
HMS The Prince of Wales aircraft carrier patrolling the waters off of St Ives. EPA -
Extinction Rebellion stage a protest on the beach of St Ives. Getty Images
Mr Macron called for drugmakers to donate some of their doses directly to complement donations by governments.
“Donations of doses by states have to be supplemented by donations of doses by pharmaceutical companies,” he said.
Welcoming Mr Biden's move to donate 500 million doses, he said the EU needed to have "at least the same level of ambition".
Ms Merkel and Mr Trudeau put their names to an article on Thursday that called for the G7 to meet 55 per cent of the costs of the global ACT-A plan for treatments and vaccines.
G7 leaders “have a choice – fight the virus alone and potentially lose, or fight it together and win,” the article said.
Mr Biden emphasised the vaccine issue after meeting Mr Johnson on Thursday, calling it a “major focus” of the G7.
The US president said his agenda for the G7 included treating climate change as a security threat and investing in high-quality infrastructure and health care around the world.
He called for establishing new “norms of conduct” in cyberspace to deal with threats such as ransomware attacks.
