The just concluded Group of Seven (G7) summit failed to re-energize the spirit of multilateralism required to tackle global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, terrorism and economic shocks, a Kenyan expert said on Tuesday.
Cavince Adhere, a Kenya-based international relations scholar, said the G7 summit only succeeded in endorsing lofty proclamations on how to fix global challenges without coming up with tangible solutions.
He singled out the lackluster response to the COVID-19 pandemic by Western nations whose obsession with the virus origin and hoarding of vaccines, presents serious bottlenecks to its containment.
"On COVID-19 global pandemic, the leaders' call for a united action comes a little too late," Adhere told Xinhua in an interview in Nairobi.
He said that a bungled response to the pandemic has led to colossal loss of lives in the United States, adding that other G7 members also have failed to initiate practical measures to cushion their populace from the virus.
The Kenyan scholar condemned the rampant vaccine nationalism in the Western world that has taken a heavy toll on Africa states where COVID-19 cases are surging.
He said that about 1.5 percent of the African population has received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines while huge stockpiles are expiring in the United States.
Absence of a concrete budgetary allocation and negligible consensus on how to rebuild the global economy exposed the dwindling clout of Western nations, he said.
"What is even more disheartening is that the Summit appears keen to reinvent colonialism in which member countries will be designated spheres of influence," said Adhere.
He said that developing countries are averse to colonial designs of some western powers and are keen on cooperation with allies who demonstrate respect, sincerity and ability to forge consensus.
Adhere condemned a lopsided view of multilateralism espoused by major Western economies, saying that attempts to exclude countries like China will undermine efforts to tackle challenges that humanity is facing.
"In addition, to push a major economy like China to the periphery only serves to step down the full multilateral potential of the United Nations family," said Adhere.
