Global relief • Chapter summary
For more reasons than one, 2020 was a landmark year. The global COVID-19 pandemic forced business, governments, and other entities to quickly adapt, and the 2020 G20 Summit was no exception. While the Group of Twenty were intended to meet in Riyadh in late November 2020, the Kingdom instead held the summit virtually, the first-such meeting of its kind. The Saudi leadership made the decision in mid-September to move the event to a virtual space in order to best adhere to guidelines aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19.
The summit, chaired by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, brought together more than 25 world leaders and their respective ministers of finance, health, education, energy, environment, and more to discuss a wide range of topics over more than 170 virtual meetings. Civil society and business groups were also in attendance and took part in a number of engagement groups with topics ranging from women and labor to business and science. Following two days of participants’ discussions of the larger impact of COVID-19 on the global economy and collaboration on ways to stimulate recovery and growth, the resulting Leaders’ Declaration presented a strong focus on cooperation and solidarity in order to overcome the pandemic: “We are committed to leading the world in shaping a strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive post-COVID-19 era.”
Much of the meeting focused on implementing measures that would ensure economic recovery from the global recession caused by the pandemic would be swift, in addition to being fair and sustainable. Prior to the event, Saudi Minister for Investment Khalid al Falih stated that the G20 had agreed to suspend debt payments to the least developed countries and that the amount had reached USD40 billion between 73 countries. The Debt Service Suspension Initiative was first created in April 2020 following an extraordinary G20 meeting. It was initially planned to run until October of that year, but was later extended to July 2021. Both the UN and the EU also stated before the summit that current debt suspension measures were not enough for the most indebted nations and that the G20 should find provide resources as well as finance the access to vaccines for these countries.
The Leaders’ Declaration committed to addressing the remaining funding needs in terms of allowing all countries to access COVID-19 resources. G20 leaders also expressed their concerns that the pandemic may further widen the gap between global rich and poor. In response, the EU suggested creating the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, an international collaboration worth USD4.5 billion aimed at speeding the development and subsequent distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments.
Also at the forefront of discussion and in line with the pandemic response was the development of a vaccine and ensuing its availability to the world’s least developed countries. The Leaders’ Declaration made quick mention of the G20’s unified response: “We have mobilized resources to address the immediate financing needs in global health to support the research, development, manufacturing, and distribution of safe and effective COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. We will spare no effort to ensure their affordable and equitable access for all people, consistent with members’ commitments to incentivize innovation.”
The summit also hosted a virtual roundtable focusing on women empowerment, which was emphasized as a cornerstone of economic recovery. The previous G20, held in Osaka, Japan, saw the creation of the G20 Empower Alliance, aimed at advancing women’s leadership roles in the private sector throughout G20 economies. The roundtable brought together speakers including Rania Nashar, chair of the Empower Alliance; Hala Al Tuwaijri, Chair of the Women Workstream at the G20 Riyadh; Carla Abiven, executive assistant of the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society; and Reham Al Rassa, Head Policy Advisor at the G20 Riyadh. The roundtable culminated in a statement and voluntary pledge aimed at supporting women’s advancement and leadership role in the private sector. Among international companies that signed the pledge were Johnson & Johnson, AXA, Bayer, BNP Paribas, P&G, and Lenovo.
Another pressing, though less discussed, topic bought up during the summit was the protection of the world’s coral reefs. A discussion headed by Carlos Duarte, professor of marine sciences at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, highlighted the importance of the world’s coral reefs and stressed the importance of international collaboration and cooperation in protecting them. Duarte also highlighted the commitment of Saudi Arabia to protect its coral reefs, as well as its efforts to study the resilience of reefs in the Red Sea and sharing its information with the world. At the discussion, the Saudi G20 Presidency emphasized its dedication to not only conserving coral reefs around the world, but also working to increase the population of reefs by up to 10%.