British Prime Minister Boris Johnson opened the Group of Seven virtual leaders meeting on Friday by calling for a plan to rebuild the global economy after the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On a video call with fellow leaders, Johnson said it was great to have new faces such as U.S. President Joe Biden and Italy's new prime minister, Mario Draghi.

"We also want to work together on building back better from the pandemic - a slogan that I think Joe has used several times. I think he may have nicked it from us, but I certainly nicked it from somewhere else," Johnson said.