OTTAWA: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has highlighted the importance of G20 leadership and coordinated action to beat the COVID-19 pandemic, restore economic growth, and take ambitious action to fight climate change at the G20 Virtual Leaders’ Summit, hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Trudeau welcomed the conclusions outlined in the G20 Leaders’ Declaration. In virtual meetings at the Summit, he also stressed the need to respect and defend the rule of law and human rights, including women’s rights, in order to prevent persecution and mistreatment around the world.
“Now, more than ever, our global success depends on attaining a better path towards peace, prosperity, and sustainability,” he said.
Trudeau advocated for equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics because we can’t end the pandemic in Canada without ending it everywhere.
He also reaffirmed Canada’s support and contributions to initiatives like COVAX and multilateral institutions like the World Health Organization, which are essential in our fight against COVID-19.
During the Summit, the Prime Minister noted the importance of putting people at the heart of recovery efforts.
“From creating new jobs to building economic growth that benefits all our citizens, we must work to rebuild societies that are safer, fairer, and more resilient. As we all work towards recovering from the virus, we need to prioritize support for marginalized groups, empower women and youth, and continue to respect fundamental democratic principles, including freedom of the press.”
This also involves the need to reduce the digital divide and ensure equal access to quality education and financial services to people around the world. He also raised the importance of predictable, inclusive, sustainable, and transparent rules-based trade to the global economic recovery efforts.
The Prime Minister also underscored the need to take action to fight climate change, and reiterated the importance of collective G20 action to support a cleaner, greener, and more competitive world, in line with the Paris Agreement commitments and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Together, through shared values and effective multilateral cooperation, the world will be able to build back better and emerge stronger from the pandemic.
Trudeau said: “Only together can we tackle the greatest challenges of today and tomorrow, and create a more resilient world that works for everyone. The G20 Virtual Leaders’ Summit was an opportunity to expand global efforts to fight COVID-19, restore economic growth, and combat climate change.”
• The G20 is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. It gathers the leaders of the largest economies of the world to discuss financial and socioeconomic issues.
• The G20 Summit included sessions entitled: Overcoming the Pandemic and Restoring Growth and Jobs; and Building an Inclusive, Sustainable and Resilient Future. It also included leaders’ side events on pandemic preparedness and response, as well as on safeguarding the planet.
• Collectively, G20 members represent around 80 per cent of the world’s economic output, two-thirds of global population, and three-quarters of world trade.
• Italy will host the G20 Summit in 2021. The G20 has contributed over $21 billion to support global health systems and the hunt for a vaccine, offered over $14 billion in debt relief for developing countries and injected $11 trillion to support the global economy, according to an official statement.
New Delhi: Speaking at the summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that coordinated efforts by the largest economies of the world will surely lead to faster recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Modi tweeted that he had a very fruitful discussion with the G20 leaders and thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting the summit virtually. Chinese President Xi Jinping, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin were among the other world leaders who joined Modi through video conferencing.
“At the G20 Summit, I put forward a need to develop a new global index based on talent, technology, transparency and trusteeship towards the planet,” he said in a tweet.
“Transparency in our processes helps in inspiring our societies to fight crisis collectively and with confidence. Spirit of trusteeship towards planet Earth will inspire us for a healthy and holistic lifestyle,” Modi added.
In another tweet, the Prime Minister said: “Multi-skilling and re-skilling to build a talent pool will enhance the dignity and resilience of our workers. The value of new technologies should be measured by their benefit to humanity. #G20RiyadhSummit.”
Brussels: Top European Union (EU) officials have called on leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) to advance actions more ambitiously to build a more sustainable future, although the primary focus of the G20 Summit was fighting the pandemic.