Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Leaders from the Group of 20 major economies committed themselves to presenting a united front against the coronavirus pandemic during an extraordinary virtual summit convened to advance a coordinated response to the deadly virus.

“The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic is a powerful reminder of our interconnectedness and vulnerabilities. The virus respects no borders. Combating this pandemic calls for a transparent, robust, coordinated, large-scale and science-based global response in the spirit of solidarity. We are strongly committed to presenting a united front against this common threat,” the G20 leaders said in the final summit statement.

The G20 leaders also made a commitment to share epidemiological and health data, strengthen health systems globally, and expand the manufacturing capacity of medical supplies.

During the summit called by Saudi Arabia, which is presiding over the G20 this year, they called the crisis their "absolute priority" to tackle its health, social and economic impacts.

“The G20 is committed to do whatever it takes to overcome the pandemic, along with the World Health Organization (WHO), International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank Group (WBG), United Nations (UN), and other international organizations, working within their existing mandates.”

“We are determined to spare no effort, both individually and collectively, to protect lives, safeguard people’s jobs and incomes and restore confidence, preserve financial stability, revive growth and recover stronger,” they said.

They also said they were committed to resolving disruptions to global supply chains and asked finance ministers and central bank governors to coordinate regularly together and with international organizations to develop an action plan in response to the pandemic.

“We are injecting over $5 trillion into the global economy, as part of targeted fiscal policy, economic measures, and guarantee schemes to counteract the social, economic, and financial impacts of the pandemic,” the statement added.

Meanwhile in his opening remarks, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman who was chairing the summit, made an urgent appeal to world's most powerful nations to finance the research and development of a vaccine for the virus.

“This human crisis requires a global response. The world counts on us to come together and cooperate in order to face this challenge," the King said.