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SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will attend the Group of Twenty (G20) virtual summit in Riyadh this weekend, where leaders will discuss “collective efforts” on how to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office said. of the Prime Minister (PMO) on Friday (November 20).
The summit is scheduled to take place starting at 9:00 p.m. on Saturday and beginning at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, the PMO said in a press release.
Singapore, although not a member of the G20, is a guest country of Saudi Arabia, which holds the G20 presidency this year.
Six other invited countries have also been invited, including Spain, a permanent guest, and Vietnam, president of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The other four are Jordan, Switzerland, Rwanda (president of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development) and the United Arab Emirates (president of the Gulf Cooperation Council).
Other participants in the summit include the leaders of the G20 countries, the United Nations secretary-general and the heads of multilateral organizations.
Discussions at the summit will focus on “collective efforts” to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, restore growth and jobs, as well as build an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future, the PMO said.
Mr. Lee will be accompanied by officials from the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs.
READ: Prime Minister Lee says Singapore will contribute US $ 100,000 to ASEAN’s COVID-19 fund and praises the signing of RCEP as a ‘great achievement’
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King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will preside over the summit, which marks the last official event of the G20 presidency of Saudi Arabia this year.
In a statement released last month, the G20 financial leaders promised “to do whatever it takes” to support the world economy and financial stability. They also emphasized the urgent need to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last week, the group announced that low-income countries hardest hit by the economic consequences of the pandemic could get an extension of their debt payments beyond mid-2021 and, in the most severe cases, a debt cancellation. .
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