Online G-20 summit lacks glam, and maybe results, amid virus
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — This weekend's summit of leaders from the Group of 20 stands out more for what it is not than for what it is.
Held online this year because of the coronavirus, the gathering of leaders of the world's preeminent rich and developing nations will not be an opportunity for kings, presidents and prime ministers to conduct the intimate diplomacy of closed- door meetings or pose for memorable photo-ops. Without red carpet arrivals, it will not be an occasion for its Saudi hosts to dazzle the world's media.
And it is not expected to yield a globally unified response to the worst pandemic in decades. While billions of dollars have been pledged for medicines and vaccines, G-20 countries have mostly focused on securing their own supplies.
A virtual summit does spare Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman the possibility that some leaders may have stood him up in Riyadh, two years after Western intelligence agencies said he bears ultimate responsibility for the killing of writer Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey by Saudi agents — a slaying he's denied any involvement in. But an online meeting also deprives the Saudis of a media spectacle to tout their position in the world.
Beyond putting a kink in Saudis plans, the pandemic has offered the G-20 an opportunity to prove how such bodies can facilitate international cooperation in crises — but has also underscored their shortcomings.
The G-20 — whose membercountries represent around 85% of the world's economic output and three-quarters of international trade — was founded in 1999 as a way for finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss the global economy.
In March, when border closures and lockdown orders to slow the spread of the virus affected well over a quarter of the world's population, Saudi King Salman convened G-20 leaders virtually.
At the time, the recorded global death toll from the virus had just climbed past 22,000. G-20 leaders vowed to share information and the material needed for research, to exchange epidemiological and clinical data, and to strengthen health systems. They also promised to work together to increase funding for vaccine research.
Quick research and sharing of scientific information for the development of COVID-19 tests and vaccines has happened. The work on vaccines, which began only this year, may result in viable candidates soon.
But it's arguable whether health systems have been strengthened; even in the wealthiest nations like the U.S. and those in Europe, hospitals have become overwhelmed, and testing and contact-tracing programs have struggled.
The Associated Press also found that China — a key G- 20 member — was not entirely transparent with the World Health Organization in the initial stages of the pandemic, although many other nations have also not provided thorough details about their outbreaks.
The disease has now claimed more than 1.3 million lives, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.
In a recent letter to G-20 leaders, U. N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world faces its biggest test since the Second World War.