Coronavirus: G20 to develop plan to deal with pandemic as global recession looms

G20 finance officials met by video conference for nearly two hours on Monday

G20 leaders are due to gather for an extraordinary virtual summit in coming days as the world races to contain the virus

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Group of 20 (G20) leaders are due to gather for an extraordinary virtual summit in coming days as the world races to contain the virus, which has infected 370,000 globally and killed over 16,000. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:27am, 24 Mar 2020Updated: 11:35am, 24 Mar 2020

Finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s 20 largest economies agreed on Monday to develop an “action plan” to respond to a coronavirus pandemic that the International Monetary Fund now expects to trigger a global recession, but they offered no specifics.

The Group of 20 (G20) secretariat issued the statement after the finance officials met by video conference for nearly two hours, amid growing criticism that the world’s “fire station” has been slow to respond to the worsening crisis.

G20 leaders are due to gather for an extraordinary virtual summit in coming days as the world races to contain the virus, which has infected 370,000 globally and killed over 16,000.

The summit, called by this year’s chair, Saudi Arabia, will be complicated by an oil price war between two members, Saudi Arabia and Russia, and rising tensions between two others, the United States and China, over the origin of the virus.

This is a team effort to kill this virus and provide economic relief

Steven Mnuchin

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Fox News his counterparts agreed to act to support their own economies, and coordinate internationally as needed, but he gave no specifics.