G20 leaders meet in remote conference to grapple with the economic repercussions of coronavirus

Leaders of the Group of 20 major economies (G20) were gathering online on Saturday for an annual summit that is expected to focus on tackling economic repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.

The two-day summit is hosted by Saudi Arabia, the current president of the bloc.

Saudi King Salman opened the event, calling on the G20 leaders to address the vulnerabilities resulting from the pandemic.

“In the near future, we must address vulnerabilities exposed by this crisis while protecting lives and livelihoods,” he said.

“We are duty-bound to live up to the level of challenge during this summit, reassure our people and raise their hopes by endorsing policies to confront this crisis,” he told the leaders via a video conference.

He also called for coordinated support for developing countries suffering from economic fallout, saying that this was crucial in maintaining development they had achieved over the past decades.

“This pandemic has wrought economic and social losses. Our people and economies are still suffering from this shock,” he added.

“But we will do our utmost to overcome this crisis through international cooperation,” the monarch said.

In March, the G20 leaders vowed to coordinate their response to the pandemic.

Since then, they have collectively injected 11 trillion dollars to mitigate the impact on the global economy.

The group has also launched a debt suspension initiative for the least developed countries that would allow the beneficiaries to defer 14 billion dollars in debt payments due this year.

The money will instead be used for financing those countries' health systems and social programmes.

Dubbed the Riyadh summit, the event's organisers said that discussions would focus on restoring economic growth.

They added that a G20 economic recovery scheme should be based on protecting lives, safeguarding people’s jobs and incomes, restoring confidence, preserving financial stability, and providing help to all countries in need of help.

This is Saudi Arabia’s first time managing the presidency of the group, which brings together 19 countries and the European Union.

Travel restrictions and health precautions due to the pandemic mean that Riyadh missed out on hosting the first in-person G20 summit in the Arab world.

Marking the summit opening, aircraft from Saudi Arabia’s air force and national carrier staged a flyover on Saturday.

The G20 encompasses two thirds of the world's population, 85 per cent of global economic output and 75 per cent of world trade.