G20 seeks to help poorest nations deal with pandemic

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The G20 Summit has produced a number of commitments from country leaders to help poor countries in the world, especially in dealing with the COVID-19 and post-pandemic situations.

“Our peoples and economies are still suffering from this shock. However, we will do our best to overcome this crisis through international cooperation,” King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud stated in his opening remarks at the G20 Summit which was held virally in Riyadh, Saturday (Nov 21).

The pandemic, which will throw the global economy into a deep recession this year before an economic rebound expected in 2021, is at the top of the agenda.

The king noted that the 20 largest global economies had so far contributed 21 billion U.S. dollars to confronting COVID-19 and took extraordinary measures to support our economies by injecting over 11 trillion U.S. dollars to support individuals and businesses.

The G20 leaders are concerned that the pandemic might further deepen global divisions between the rich and the poor.

“We need to avoid at all costs a scenario of a two-speed world where only the richer can protect themselves against the virus and restart normal lives,” French President Emmanuel Macron told the summit.

To do that, the E.U. urged G20 leaders to quickly put more money into a global project for vaccines, tests and therapeutics called Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.

“At the G20 Summit I called for 4.5 billion U.S. dollars to be invested in ACT Accelerator by the end of 2020, for procurement and delivery of COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines everywhere,” European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said on Twitter. “We need to show global solidarity,” she added.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin offered to provide Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine to other countries and said Moscow was also preparing a second and third vaccine.

China, where the pandemic originated a year ago, also offered to cooperate on vaccines.

“China is willing to strengthen cooperation with other countries in the research and development, production, and distribution of vaccines,” President Xi Jinping told the G20 Summit.

“We will offer help and support to other developing countries, and work hard to make vaccines a public good that citizens of all countries can use and can afford,” he said.

Reporting by Indonesia Window