G20 leaders to have virtual summit Thursday for ‘a coordinated global response’ to Covid-19

King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will chair the virtual summit that follows a telephone conversation between PM Modi and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman last week.

Shinzo Abe, Japan's prime minister, center, speaks during a session at the Group of 20 (G-20) summit in Osaka, Japan in 2019. | Photographer: Kazuhiro Nogi | Pool via Bloomberg

New Delhi: G20 leaders will be holding a virtual summit Thursday to identify ways to combat the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease across the world.

“King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will chair the meeting to advance a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its human and economic implications,” said a statement issued by the G20 Secretariat.

Saudi Arabia is holding the G20 Presidency this year. The video conference, being called the G20 Extraordinary Virtual Leaders’ Summit, is the first of its kind to be held in the last 21 years since the grouping was created.

Prior to this, a meeting of the G20 sherpas (personal representative of a head of state or government) will take place Wednesday. Former commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu is the G20 Sherpa for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This year, the summit will also be joined by countries such as Spain, Jordan, Singapore, and Switzerland that are not part of the grouping.

Besides, international organisations such as the United Nations, World Bank, World Health Organization, World Trade Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, Finance Stability Board, International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development will also be joining the video-conference, Riyadh said in the statement.

Regional organisations will be represented by ASEAN Chair Vietnam, South Africa – Chair of the African Union (AU), UAE – Chair of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Rwanda the Chair of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

The G20 leaders’ virtual meeting has been organised following a telephone conversation between PM Modi and Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman last week.

The G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, and the European Union.