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By AFP 
November 22, 2020
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – Historic promises about access to vaccines, a US president who went off to play golf, and awkward questions for Saudi hosts about the murder of campaign journalist Jamal Khashoggi have dominated the virtual G20 of this year.
Here are the key quotes from the event.
Solidarity vs. Covid-19
The new coronavirus has claimed at least 1,381,915 lives worldwide, according to an AFP tally, since the World Health Organization announced the virus had emerged in China in December.
The distribution of the innovative vaccines dominated the debate at this year’s G20, with questions about availability in less developed countries as wealthy nations seize most of the doses pumped by pharmaceutical companies.
“We will only stop COVID-19 through solidarity,” said the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The leaders said in their final statement that they would “spare no effort” to ensure that the vaccines were affordable and fairly distributed, but did not specify how they would do so.
“In the last seven months, countries have invested $ 10 billion in the effort to develop vaccines, diagnostics and therapies. But an additional $ 28 billion is needed, including $ 4.2 billion before the end of the year,” he said the head of the UN, Antonio Guterres, on the eve of the summit.
Critic’s corner
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was the first leader to question the fruits of the summit’s work.
Shortly after the Saudi hosts concluded the cyber meeting, she complained that despite the noble promise, no major agreements on vaccines for poorer nations had yet been reached.
“We will now talk to (the global vaccine alliance group) GAVI about when these negotiations will begin because I am a little concerned that nothing has been done about it,” he said.
The president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, also spoke, attacking the “unjustified” criticism during the meeting on deforestation in his country.
“We are always working to ensure a high level of protection and reject unwarranted attacks from countries that are less competitive and less sustainable,” he said.
Trump bends down
In a brief appearance before heading off to golf, US President Donald Trump paid tribute to his own handling of the pandemic, in what a source who heard the call said was an exercise in “self-publicity.”
He also redoubled his refusal to admit defeat in this month’s presidential election, won by President-elect Joe Biden.
“It has been a great honor working with you and I look forward to working with you again for a long time,” he said, despite his term expiring on January 20.
In Sunday’s session on climate change, Trump said he withdrew the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement because “it was not designed to save the environment. It was designed to kill the American economy.”
“I refuse to give up millions of American jobs and send billions of dollars to the worst polluters in the world,” he said in his swan song on the world stage.
Question and answer
The shadow of the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has complicated Riyadh’s efforts to shed light on the kingdom’s economic reforms.
Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih was asked in a briefing whether the killing by Saudi agents at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018 acted as a deterrent to foreign investors.
In a country where officials are not used to harsh questions from reporters, the moderator asked the journalist to take the query elsewhere, but Falih insisted on answering.
“Investors are not journalists, investors are looking for countries where they can put their trust in an effective government that has adequate economic decision making,” he said with a shrug.
The world is watching
“The whole world is watching,” said an off-screen voice to King Salman of Saudi Arabia as the annual G20 summit got underway a bit prematurely in what could have been the most important video call in 2020.
The event was a jarring reminder of the changes the world has undergone this year in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite many months of practice working virtually, Chinese President Xi Jinping could still be seen with an aide brandishing a remote control, while French President Emmanuel Macron was caught handing him a soda.
OECD Secretary General Ángel Gurría hastily put away his mobile phone after realizing he was in the shot as a miniature, along with the other delegates whose broadcast framed the hosts, King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. .
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