G20 summit to be held virtually

Our Correspondent

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced on September 28 that it will hold the scheduled G20 summit online on November 21 – 22 under the chairmanship of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Summit organisers said they planned to build on the success of the virtual extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit at the end of March and on the results of more than 100 virtual working groups and ministerial meetings, WAM reported.

The UAE had participated in the March summit as a guest and president of the current session of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The November summit, having the theme “Realising the Opportunities of the 21st Century For All”, will focus on protecting lives and re-stimulating growth by dealing with and overcoming the pandemic, and addressing the vulnerabilities that were evident during the pandemic and enhancing long-term resilience. The G20 is leading the fight against COVID-19, taking swift and unprecedented actions to protect lives, livelihoods and the most vulnerable.

It will also seek to strengthen international efforts to seize the opportunities of the 21st century for all by empowering individuals, protecting the planet and harnessing innovations to shape new horizons.

The G20 Leaders has contributed over US$21 billion to support the production, distribution, and access to diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines; and offered $11 trillion to safeguard the global economy. It has provided more than $14 billion in debt relief in less developed countries to finance their health systems and social programmes.

The G20 encompasses two-thirds of the world’s population, 85 per cent of global economic output and 75 per cent of world trade. The G20 brings together the leaders of both developed and developing countries from every continent. Its members include the European Union, the United States, India, China and Russia.