Prime Minister Narendra Modi on November 21, 2020, joined the 15th edition of the G20 Summit, chaired by Saudi Arabia. Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and US President Donald Trump were among those world leaders who attended the summit through video conferencing to discuss the impact of covid-19.
“Had a very fruitful discussion with G20 leaders. Coordinated efforts by the largest economies of the world will surely lead to faster recovery from this pandemic. Thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting the Virtual Summit,” PM Modi said in his tweet.
Had a very fruitful discussion with G20 leaders. Coordinated efforts by the largest economies of the world will surely lead to faster recovery from this pandemic. Thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting the Virtual Summit. #G20RiyadhSummit
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 21, 2020
According to a statement by the foreign ministry, PM Modi” termed the COVID-19 pandemic as an important turning point in the history of humanity and the biggest challenge the world is facing since World War II. He also sought decisive action by G20, not limited to economy, jobs, and trade, but to preserve Planet Earth noting that all of us are trustees of humanity’s future, it added.
“We offered India’s IT prowess to further develop digital facilities for efficient functioning of the G20… 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,” he added.
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.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 21, 2020
The host of the summit, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, talked about affordable and equitable access to anti-COVID-19 tools and vaccines.
“Although we are optimistic about the progress made in developing vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics tools for Covid-19, we must work to create the conditions for affordable and equitable access to these tools for all people,” he was quoted as saying in a media report.
“We have a duty to rise to the challenge together during this summit and give a strong message of hope and reassurance to our people by adopting policies to mitigate this crisis,” he added. Talking about the economy, King Salman requested the world leaders to reopen economies and borders to facilitate trade and people.
“We must provide support to the developing countries in a coordinated manner to maintain the development already achieved over the past decades,” he added. According to the statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs on November 20, 2020, the summit would on an inclusive, resilient, and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19.
“During the G20 summit, the leaders will discuss pandemic preparedness and the ways and means to restore jobs. The leaders will also share their vision for building an inclusive, sustainable and resilient future,” Anurag Srivastava, the Spokesperson of the Ministry of foreign affairs, had said.
