Indian minister to self-isolate at G-7 meeting of top diplomats

[LONDON] A meeting of top Group of Seven (G-7) diplomats being held in person in London risked being derailed after India's foreign minister said he would self-isolate over possible exposure to coronavirus.

The possibility of the spread of the virus among senior officials and beyond has the potential to shut down the high-profile event that marked the G-7 debut of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and is being hosted by the UK.

India is not a member of the G-7, though it was invited as a guest by Brits to mark the focus on Asia and the Indo-Pacific, which was also the theme of the dinner where foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar would have been invited.

The Foreign Office in London had no immediate comment.

The question now is what kind of contact did Indian officials have with others. UK Home Secretary Priti Patel met with Mr Jaishankar, who so far during his stay has also seen counterparts from the US, France, Canada, South Africa as well as the European Union's representative, Josep Borrell.

The British delegation for now insists that all precautions had been deployed after Sky News reported that there were two Covid-19 cases among the Indian delegation, which did not take part in the G-7 sessions during the day.

The UK seems to be pushing on through. A smiling Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was filmed welcoming fellow ministers to Lancaster House with fist bumps.

BLOOMBERG