Saudi Arabia is set to host the G20 Leaders Summit this weekend, the main event involving the heads of the 20 nations chaired virtually by the Kingdom due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
The 15th G20 Summit, under the presidency of Saudi Arabia for the first time, will follow on a year of focused meetings all held virtually during an unprecedented pandemic crisis. The G20 Leaders Summit will make fighting the global pandemic and recovering as a global economy a top conversation topic.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.
On that subject, the nations of the G20, which are the richest countries in the world, are moving towards a consensus on the release of additional funds from the IMF for the poorer countries whose economies saw the greatest damage from the coronavirus crisis, according to comments by Mohammed Al-Jadaan to the Financial Times. The G20 finance heads met last week on Friday to agree on new measures to help the world’s poorest countries fight the coronavirus pandemic.
Energy is also in focus as the world seeks a sustainable future. In a G20 meeting in Riyadh on Wednesday, Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said that sustainable energy solutions have been at the heart of the group’s efforts throughout Saudi Arabia’s presidency this year.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said actual terror attacks in the kingdom had “fallen to near zero.”
“We have not lost sight of a sustainable future. We are committed and working on it,” he said in the “Safeguarding our planet through more-sustainable energy systems” meeting.
This week, the Kingdom also hosted a virtual roundtable on Women’s empowerment as a key enabler for economic recovery.
At a press briefing on Monday, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qassabi, the Saudi minister of commerce and acting minister of media, said that the Kingdom welcomed having a physical media presence at the summit, which will cover the ongoing activities and meetings between the world’s most powerful leaders.
Dr. Majed Al-Qassabi, acting Minister of Media and Minister of Commerce for Saudi Arabia.
“The Kingdom opened its heart before it opened its doors to the media and welcomed the presence of the media physically within the health protocols,” he added.
Connectivity was and is on display during this year’s events, which have been hosted virtually, highlight the role of technology. Connecting the unconnected world through digital technology is a top priority of G20 and is key to “empowering people,” a senior Saudi official said in an exclusive interview Wednesday with CGTN over a WebEx video link from Riyadh.
