In 2020, Saudi Arabia became the first Arab nation to assume the G20 presidency. Hosting the G20 is a massive undertaking, involving close to two years of event planning, policy development and strategy, and much more.
What was it like to host the G20 in Saudi Arabia, and what was left behind? What effect did the onset of the global pandemic have for organizers, and how did they adapt to meet the challenge?
“Those who work on the G20, which many of them by the way are youth — this is the human capital that will be left, that’s already been left, after the G20 that will continue to sharpen their skills in terms of policy, negotiation, event planning, and so forth,” AlHassan told The 966. “Those people who work at the G20, now they are in a different part of the government, executing the government’s vision for the future, Vision 2030. So those people, they acquire a unique international skills that now they are able basically to put it into place in order to execute domestic policies that will take the country to a higher level in the future.”
The G20 is a significant organization. The 20 member-nations represent 90% of global GDP, 80% of world trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population.
“When you have to create this out of whole cloth and go from zero to a hundred, it was really a masterclass for Saudi,” SUSTG’s president and 966 co-host Richard Wilson noted, adding that a whole generation of Saudis expanded their skillset as a result of working on hosting the G20 meetings in Saudi Arabia.
Abdullah AlHassan discussed how he was first tapped to serve his country for the G20 presidency, and how, during his two year sabbatical from the IMF, he worked his way up from senior policy advisor to serving in two more senior roles: Sous-Sherpa and the Executive Director of Policy.
“These are basically two jobs. I mean, as a director of policy, you are building the policies, coordinating with at least 12 government entities on a day-to-day basis, trying to execute the presidency agenda…And then as a Sous-Sherpa, more as a political engagement with other Sherpa offices to ensure that they can reach consensus and this creates the issues where needed.
Organizing the G20 is a significant undertaking for every host country. But just two months into the Saudi presidency, the organizers were dealt a curveball: how to proceed with the event during the global pandemic.
“When the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 as a pandemic just before middle of March, we moved swiftly, and his majesty King Salman invited the G20 countries for an extraordinary summit that was held on March 26,” AlHassan said. “And it was Chaired by his majesty king Salman. So during the summit, the leaders, they were really committed to addressing both the health and the economic crisis, and at that summit, they sent pretty much two messages….One, protecting life and livelihoods. This is a top priority. And second, ensuring that the economy can get back on its feet over the short term, but also ensuring having a stronger recovery over the medium term.”
“2020 was a very challenging year globally. You have a healthcare crisis, you have an economic crisis. We have also an election that is happening in many countries. So there are lots of moving parts at the same time, but what you have, you have a commitment from the G20 countries to deal with the issues. Yes, there are some easier issues than another, but as long as you continue to have the dialogue among the G20 countries, you are able to reach a consensus.”
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