RIYADH — Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, proposed holding two G20 summits annually in the future: One, virtually, mid-year, and a second in-person at the end of the year.

“We hope that Italy works on this initiative,” Crown Prince said Sunday, after Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte thanked King Salman on the Kingdom's presidency of the G20 and for unifying G20 endeavor, while 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.

Crown Prince Muhammad said that since the beginning of this year, the Kingdom had set one goal, ‘Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century For All,’ which includes themes such as: empowering people, safeguarding the planet, and shaping new frontiers.

He also stressed that in light of the outbreak of COVID-19 and its health, economic, and social repercussions, cooperation has been important more than ever. “Together we have addressed this challenge with seriousness necessitated by the responsibility to preserve human life, protect livelihoods, mitigate the ensuing damage of this pandemic, and raise readiness to face any future crises, God forbid.

“This pandemic knows no borders. It has reached all countries and affected, directly and indirectly, every person living on this planet, which has necessitated the activation of the pivotal role played by the G20. To this end, the G20's leaders met twice during one presidency, a precedent since the foundation of the G20,” Crown Prince Muhammad said.

The need for global coordinated actions is more important than ever now. The leaders of the G20 met 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 pandemic revealed the deep and pervasive weaknesses in health systems worldwide and vulnerability in the capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to pandemic threats.

Throughout the year, the G20 progressed their commitments to find solutions to current challenges, address the impacts of the current pandemic and mitigate the risks of future pandemics. 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. — SG