G20 Expected to Focus on Pandemic in Closing Statement

The G20 meeting of leaders from the world’s most important economies, being hosted via video-conference this weekend by Saudi Arabia, is expected to wrap up on Sunday with a final communique focusing on the coronavirus pandemic. A draft of the statement seen by the Agence France-Presse news agency says participating countries promise to “spare no effort” to combat the pandemic. “We have mobilized resources to address the immediate financing needs in global health to support the research, development, manufacturing and distribution of safe and effective COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines,” the document says, according to AFP. “We will spare no effort to ensure their affordable and equitable access for all people, consistent with members’ commitments to incentivize innovation.” There is no mention as to how this would be funded. According to the summit’s organizers, member-nations of the G20 have already poured over $20 billion into anti-pandemic efforts and injected some $11 trillion in world economies as growth sags due to soaring closures and unemployment.