On 26th March 2020 the global leaders of 20 countries came together through video conference on Thursday at G-20 Summit to forge a global coordinated response on Covid-19 alarming situation. The main objective of G-20 Summit was cornered at major issues of the world i.e.
- How we can control Covid-19?
- Steps taken to combat Covid-19?
- What we can do to revive Global Economy?
The virtual G-20 Summit was a culmination of the global leaders of G-20 countries and the invited countries leaders from Spain, Jordan, Singapore, and Switzerland, as well as international organizations - United Nations, World Bank, IMF, World Health Organization and World Trade Organization.
Chaired by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, at the meeting the G-20 Leaders committed to use all available policy tools to minimize the economic and social cost of the pandemic and to restore global growth, market stability and strengthening resilience.
In his opening remarks, King Salman said, "We are holding this meeting to carry out our responsibilities as the leaders of the world’s largest economies, in order to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, which requires that we take firm measures on various fronts."
G-20 Virtual Summit Key Takeaways:
1. G-20 nations pledged a united front in the fight against Coronavirus.
2. They also committed to inject $ 5 trillion Dollar into the global economy to ensure the situation of deep recession doesn’t arise.
3. G-20 leaders also pledged to work with bodies such as the International Monetary Fund to deploy a robust financial package to support the developing nations which do not have access to capital markets or adequate health facilities.
4. Leaders agreed to contribute to the World Health Organization (WHO) led Covid-19 solidarity response fund on a voluntary basis.
What PM Modi said on G-20 Virtual Summit:
PM thanked the King of Saudi Arabia for convening this extraordinary session of G-20. In his remark, PM Modi noted on the alarming social and economic cost of the pandemic:
1. He added that 90% of the Covid-19 cases and 88% of deaths were in G-20 countries even as they share 80% of world GDP and 60% of world population.
2. He called on the G-20 to come out with a concrete action plan to fight the global pandemic.
3. G-20 countries should collaborate to build a vigilant framework so that G-20 countries individually and together could fight against the impact of Covid-19.
4. PM underscored the need to put human beings at the centre of our vision of global prosperity and cooperation, freely and openly share the benefits of medical research and development, develop adaptive, responsive and human healthcare systems, promote new crises management protocols and procedures for interconnected global village, strengthen and reform intergovernmental organizations like WHO and work together to reduce economic hardship resulting from Covid-19 particularly for the economically weak.
5. PM called on the Leaders to help usher in a new globalization, for the collective well-being of humankind and have multilateral fora focus on promoting the shared interests of humanity.
At the end of the G-20 Summit the King Salman states that “This human crisis requires a global response. The world counts on us to come together and cooperate in order to face this challenge”.
Hence manifold a coordinated global response to fight the pandemic is much needed by the G-20 leaders to safeguard the global economy as well as the social, moral, medical strata of the world.
