ScoMo all alone as world leaders mingle at G7 photo shoot
Australian prime minister Scott Morrison was left standing awkwardly by himself while world leaders mingled at the G7 summit.
While world leaders gather together before a photo opportunity, exchanging pleasantries, Mr Morrison lingers at the back, right in the centre of the platform, amusing himself on his phone.
President of the United States, Donald Trump, stands directly in front of Mr Morrison, as does Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.
As Mr Trump walks up the the platform for the photo, it doesn’t seem he or Mr Morrison acknowledge each other.
The newly appointed Prime Minister of Great Britain, Boris Johnson, can be seen on the fringe of the group.
After the photo of the world leaders is taken, they are then joined by their partners. Mr Morrison remains at the back of the group.
The G7 summit is for France, Germany, Britain, Italy, the US, Canada and Japan, however this year Australian prime minister Scott Morrison received an invite as an observer.
Australia wasn’t the only country outside of the traditional seven to be invited, French President Emmanuel Macron decided to invite additional world powers, he sees as committed to democratic values and fundamental freedoms.
Mr Macron decided to shake things up and also invite India, Chile, South Africa - and four African nations to this years summit in Biarritz, France.
“This is an important time, I think, to reinforce these shared values in today's world - democracy, respect for human rights and international law, and free markets," Mr Morrison said ahead of his trip.
Mr Morrison used his position as a special guest to talk about Australia’s plan to wipe out extremist content from the internet.
On the sidelines of the G7 summit, Mr Morrison met with Angel Gurria, head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to discuss new protocols social media platforms will have to follow.
The new protocols mean social media platforms like Facebook will have to report how many attempts there were to upload terrorist or violent extremest content.
Iran foreign minister makes surprise visit to Biarritz
Australia’s prime minister, and the other world leaders were surprised when Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif joined Mr Macron for a brief meeting.
Last week Australia committed troops, a surveillance plane and a navy frigate to the US-led effort to protect shipping lanes from Iran during meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the summit.
Mr Morrison also had time to squeeze in a 20-minute meeting with Donald Trump, where Mr Morrison reiterated Australia’s concerns about the impacts of the US-China trade disputes.
Mr Morrison did not confirm whether he backed Mr Trump’s approach to the US-China trade war, saying he only wanted the dispute to end.
As the summit comes to an end, UK prime minister, Boris Johnson is expected to meet with his international counterparts, including Mr Morrison, aa day after England’s Ashes Test victory.
“I’m sure he’ll give me a hard time about the fact they clipped us in the latest Ashes,” Mr Morrison said.
with AAP
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