RIYADH — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) concluded here Sunday 15th Virtual G20 Leaders' Summit, with the Summit Chairman King Salman stressing that the group was “able to reaffirm the spirit of cooperation that has always been the cornerstone of the G20 successes.”

King Salman at the outset of his speech thanked all for their active participation over the last two days, adding, “We were able to reaffirm the spirit of cooperation that has always been the cornerstone of the G20 successes. This spirit is necessary today more than ever to face the impacts of this pandemic and to build a prosperous future for the people of the world.”

He continued: “We have achieved a lot this year. We have upheld our commitment to continue to work together to rise to the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic in order to safeguard lives and livelihoods and protect the most vulnerable groups.

“We have adopted important policies that will achieve recovery all the way to an economy that is resilient, sustainable, inclusive, and balanced. These policies will also maintain the momentum to make the global trade system work for all, and create the conditions to achieve sustainable growth.”

He stressed in his address that “Most importantly, we have succeeded in sending out a message of hope and reassurance to our citizens and all people around the world through the Final Communiqué of this Leaders' Summit. And it is my honor to announce that the G20 members have adopted this communiqué. This is what the world has been expecting from us. This achievement today is a culmination of our joint efforts throughout this challenge-fraught year.”

“Our joint and individual actions will be critical in overcoming the immediate global challenge we are facing. Looking forward, through Empowering People, Safeguarding the Planet, and Shaping New Frontiers, we will work on laying the foundations to achieve the main theme of our Presidency: Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All,” King Salman added.

“Due to its unique stature regionally and internationally, and its unique location which interconnects three continents and lies at the intersection of emerging and developed markets, the Kingdom will continue to play a key role within the G20 to achieve global cooperation and find solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges of the 21st century, in collaboration with our partners in the G20 and other countries,” he said.

“This was the first time that Saudi Arabia had the honor of holding the Presidency of the G20, and it turned out to be a very challenging year. Nevertheless, with your support, we managed to rise to the challenge together.

“I would like to express my gratitude to our partners in the Troika, Japan and Italy, who helped us to achieve our program this year,” the King said.

Then, Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte delivered a speech, thanking King Salman on the Kingdom's presidency of the G20 and for unifying G20 endeavor, announcing his country's readiness to assume the summit of the G20 and reasserting keeping the success achieved by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during its presidency of the G20.

Conte called his country's assumption of the G20 presidency for the next year, as comprehensive and effective, in dealing with various issues and challenges facing the world countries in order to realize the objectives of the G20.

“We are looking forward to the post pandemic stage, in order to build a comprehensive, healthy, sustainable, supporting and more equitable future for the societies,” Conte said.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques then replied: "Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister. We wish you every success with the G20 Presidency. I would like to thank all participants in this summit. It has been the honor of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to hold the G20 Presidency through this extraordinary year in human history.

May peace be with all of you. I now adjourn the Riyadh G20 Summit."

The Kingdom's delegation participating in the summit included Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, deputy prime minister and minister of defense; Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal Bin Farhan; Minister of State and Member of the Cabinet Dr. Musaed Bin Mohammed Al-Aiban; Minister of State and Member of the Cabinet Dr. Ibrahim Bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf; and Minister of Finance Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Jadaan. — SG