‘The world’s changed quite a bit,’ was Domic Raab’s fitting, if somewhat understated, opening remark at the G7 meeting of foreign secretaries this week. The first in-person meeting of the alliance in two years saw masked dignitaries, elbow bumps and distanced discussions behind plexiglass screens. But two members of the Indian delegation still ended up testing positive for Covid.
Beyond the immediate challenges of the current crisis, Raab’s words seemed prescient. Quite a bit has changed since the G7 last met in France in 2019. Britain has left the EU and is no longer paralysed by parliamentary deadlock. President Biden has replaced Donald Trump in the White House. German and French elections this year and next cast a fog of uncertainty over the direction of European policy. The return of some form of face-to-face diplomacy is therefore much more than just a symbolic step on the road to normality.
There is a chance for Britain to find a new role for itself in the field of diplomacy
With so much of the international power constellation in flux, there is a chance for Britain to find a new role for itself in the field of diplomacy.
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