Riyadh: Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, the G-20 has showcased leadership to coordinate responses and work as a united front to protect lives’ and livelihoods.
The G-20 leaders pledged over $21 billion at the outset of the crisis to support funding in global health capacities, at the extraordinary two-day virtual Summit that concluded today after Saudi Arabia hosting its first G-20 presidency, with the theme, “Realising Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”. They agreed to take concrete actions to support the development and distribution of needed diagnostic tools, therapeutics, and vaccines, and enhance health systems, and stated that “the role of the G20 in the fight against the pandemic is not over”.
On a global scale, the G-20 members have already injected over $11 tr so far to safeguard the economy and protect livelihoods, secure the continuity of businesses, and protect the most vulnerable segments of the population.
A press release issued by the Saudi secretariat today said that this week, the leaders of the G20 will meet for the second time under the Saudi Presidency to address the most pressing challenges of our times, with the vision to take further steps to overcome the pandemic while building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future for all.
“The G20 is committed to spare no effort to overcome the pandemic,” it stated, adding that the G20 leaders in course of the meeting established a forward-looking agenda under the Saudi Presidency, on which they worked collectively during the pandemic and its toll on humanity to restore growth and recovery, as well as accelerate development and delivery of vaccines, diagnostics and treatments.
“The G20 countries have committed their efforts on both addressing the immediate challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and on ensuring the world is better prepared to deal with future health crises by enhancing pandemic preparedness and response,” the release stated.
The World Health Organisation Secretary-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus too addressed the G-20 Summit where he told Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga the WHO was working with the International Olympic Committee to make next year’s Tokyo Olympics a success, “and a symbol of hope for the world”.
Suga said that Japan “will make every possible effort to revive the economy and resume travel while taking measures to prevent a resurgence of infections”.
It may be mentioned that for the first time in history the Olympic Games had to be postponed.The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 got postponed due to the Covid-19 outbreak, and the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is now scheduled to be held on July 23, 2021.
There now appears some optimism as for the first time since February this year, the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission Chair, John Coates, returned to Japan with IOC president Thomas Bach for review of the project. After the review meetings held between November 16 and 18, Coates said: “This is a very positive sign that we’ve been able to return to Japan at this point in preparations. Discussions over the last three days have reinforced our joint determination to hold safe and successful Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. Close collaboration and regular communications with our friends in Japan, partners across the world and the entire Olympic Movement have once again shown we are stronger together.”
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed the G-20 yesterday, had called for dealing with environment and nature as trustees rather than owners in the post-Covid world to “inspire us towards a Holistic and Healthy Life Style, a principle whose benchmark could be a Per Capita Carbon Footprint”.
– globalbihari bureau
