London, May 5 (PTI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday joined the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers Meeting in London virtually after he decided to withdraw from the face-to-face meetings because of possible exposure to coronavirus.

The minister participated in discussions with the other foreign ministers via videolink instead to focus on new ways to ensure fairer access to vaccine stockpiles and increase support for the global vaccine distribution scheme known as COVAX.

Also on Wednesday's agenda for the G7 talks is media freedom, arbitrary detention and girls' education.

“A cyber participation at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting. So far, yet so near,” Jaishankar tweeted along with an image of him joining the discussions from his hotel room.

Between the G7 sessions, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reached out to Jaishankar who assured him to take forward the 2030 roadmap.

"Very good of PM @BorisJohnson to reach out between the G7 sessions," Jaishankar tweeted.

"Assured him that Foreign Secretary @DominicRaab and I will take forward the 2030 Roadmap. Committed to delivering on the Modi-Johnson vision of our ties," he added.

At their virtual summit on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Johnson unveiled a 'Roadmap 2030' to elevate ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership and announced enhanced trade cooperation.

Jaishankar was forced to take his schedule here virtual on Wednesday after members of the small delegation accompanying him tested positive for COVID-19.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it deeply regrets the Indian minister was unable to attend in person but that the “strict COVID protocols and daily testing” are in place for the summit to address such cases.

The minister is in the UK at the invitation of UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab for the G7 Foreign and Development Ministers Meeting.

Jaishankar is one of the guest ministers along with his counterparts from Australia, South Korea and South Africa, as well as the chair of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN), as part of Britain's Indo-Pacific strategy to unite the world's major democracies.

The Group of Seven ministers are made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the UK as well as the European Union (EU).

They began their talks earlier this week with an agenda set by the UK as the host nation that revolves around addressing threats to global democracy.

This G7 Foreign Ministers summit is the first in-person summit since the pandemic and the first to be hosted at a COVID-secure venue. The protocols in place involve staff and delegates required to complete daily COVID-19 tests throughout the summit before entering any of the venues.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)