RIYADH, 22 November 2020, (TON): Around two dozen world leaders spoke at the G 20 summit hosted by Saudi Arabia. In his opening remarks, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdul Aziz spoke to international leaders and highlighted the economic support G-20 members had contributed in combating the coronavirus pandemic and economic fallout due to COVID-19. He urged the G-20 to forge a collective path forward.

The King said, “In the near future, we must address the vulnerabilities exposed by covid-19 by working to protect lives and livelihoods.” 

Expectations are high that the two-day summit will produce significant results in in combating the coronavirus pandemic and devising some economic strategy for global economic crises and climate change.

President Trump participated in the Group of 20 (G-20) summit on Saturday and also set to attend another G-20 session on Sunday, highlighted the administration's coronavirus actions, suggested quick steps to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that Trump in his remarks "discussed with other world leaders the need to work together to restore strong economic growth and jobs as we overcome the COVID-19 pandemic." She said, "During his remarks, President Trump highlighted how the United States marshaled every resource at its disposal to respond to the crisis, as well as the unprecedented economic recovery of the United States on a foundation of tax and regulatory cuts, energy independence, and fair trade deals."

Italy, which takes over the presidency next in 2021, has said debt relief for Africa will be among its priorities. Africa is least affected continent but the European nations are much concerned about spread of coronavirus pandemic in Africa.

Earlier on Friday in a statement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she planned to push members to continue to provide pandemic-related economic support until recovery from the virus is certain.

She also expressed hope that the United States’ “new president-elect” will “increase multilateral cooperation” in areas such as health and climate change, noting that until now “the United States has resisted engaging,” in a rebuke of Trump’s isolationist policies.

U.N. Secretary General António Guterres said that $ 28 billion is needed to fund the manufacturing and distribution of coronavirus vaccines. He also urged them to extend relief until the year’s end so that governments could prioritize tackling the virus and economic fallouts.