Work to enable the safe return to international travel continued at a meeting of transport ministers hosted by UK government Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

The virtual meeting brought together transport ministers from the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the EU Commission to identify common goals and principles that will help develop globally recognised travel standards for when international travel reopens. This includes best practices for sharing scientific data and promoting coordination on universally recognised travel certificates.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "If we’re to safely and sustainably restart international travel on a global scale, we need a robust, accessible and coordinated approach.

"That’s why I’ve brought together my G7 counterparts to identify shared goals, address challenges we may face and progress work on a coordinated approach that will allow us to build back better as we look to the future."

At the meeting, the Secretary of State also outlined the UK government’s approach to reopening international travel through the recommendations of the Global Travel Taskforce report. Published last month, the report sets out a framework to restart international travel from 17 May at the earliest through the introduction of a traffic light system.

As part of this, the UK government continues to play a leading role in the development of international standards around digital travel certifications. Work continues across the UK government to prioritise a solution to enable passengers to prove their COVID-19 status for vaccines for outbound travel to another country.