The G20 leaders appeared in various windows through a blinking screen.
Riyadh:
Saudi King Salman inaugurated the G20 summit on Saturday for the first time for an Arab nation, with the virtual forum dominated by efforts to address the coronavirus crisis and the worst global recession in decades.
G20 leaders, including US President Donald Trump, who refuses to concede a bitter election, appeared in multiple windows through a flickering screen, at a high-stakes webinar held amidst the raging pandemic.
Leaders are gathering online for the two-day “gathering” as international efforts for a large-scale deployment of coronavirus vaccines intensify after a breakthrough in trials, and as orders for for the G20 nations to fill a funding gap of $ 4.5 billion.
“While we are optimistic about the progress made in the development of vaccines, therapies and diagnostic tools for Covid-19, we must work to create the conditions for affordable and equitable access to these tools for all people,” said King Salman, host from the summit.
“We have a duty to meet the challenge together during this summit and send a strong message of hope and reassurance to our people by adopting policies to mitigate this crisis,” he told world leaders in his opening remarks.
When the groundbreaking event began, there were some early quirks, with someone telling the king that “the whole world is watching” before the event started, Chinese President Xi Jinping apparently had to call for technical help and French President Emmanuel Macron . chatting with an assistant off camera.
With Saudi hopes for a grand wardrobe unveiling parade thwarted by the pandemic, the event is reduced to brief online sessions of what observers call “digital diplomacy.”
Despite having to abandon much of the usual splendor of the summit, Saudi Arabia kicked off the meeting with an aerobatics display over Riyadh.
And denied the chance to take the traditional “family photo”, a montage by the G20 leaders was screened on the ruins of the historic city of Diriyah during a gala event on Friday.
Along with Xi, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin are among the leaders expected to speak at the summit, and climate change is at the top of the agenda, sources close to the organizers said.
Trump is also participating, but it is unclear whether the president of the United States, who continues to reject his electoral defeat, will deliver a speech. Many G20 leaders have already congratulated their rival, President-elect Joe Biden.
“Bolder measures”
G20 nations have contributed more than $ 21 billion to fight the pandemic, which has infected 56 million people worldwide and killed 1.3 million, and injected $ 11 trillion to “safeguard” the virus-hit world economy, organizers said.
But the group’s leaders face mounting pressure to help avoid potential credit defaults in developing countries.
Last week, its finance ministers declared a “common framework” for an extended debt restructuring plan for countries ravaged by the virus, but activists say the measure is insufficient.
Ministers had extended a debt suspension initiative for developing countries until June next year, but UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pushed for a commitment to extend it until the end of 2021.
The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has warned that the global economy faces a tough road back from the Covid-19 recession, even as vaccines are in the offing.
G20 nations must help close the $ 4.5 billion funding gap in the so-called ACT-Accelerator, demanded the Prime Minister of Norway, the President of South Africa, the heads of the European Union and the World Health Organization in a joint letter to the group.
The program promotes an equitable distribution of Covid-19 vaccines to curb the pandemic.
“Serious abuse”
Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has overshadowed the gathering as activists and the families of jailed activists launch vigorous efforts to highlight the issue.
Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih was asked at a press conference if Saudi Arabia needs to try a different approach to overcome negative headlines, including the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the imprisonment of critics in an ongoing crackdown.
In a country where it is rare for leaders to answer these kinds of questions, 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 place their trust in an effective government that has adequate economic decision-making,” he said.
Some Western officials have indicated that human rights will not be addressed at the summit, saying they prefer to use bilateral forums to discuss the issue with Riyadh.
“Rather than expressing concern over serious abuses by Saudi Arabia, the G20 is reinforcing the Saudi government’s well-funded publicity efforts to portray the country as a ‘reformer’ despite a significant increase in repression,” said Michael Page of Human Rights Watch.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
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