President Cyril Ramaphosa will this weekend lead the South African delegation to the virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit.
The G20 Leaders’ Summit is convened by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a focus on deepening global cooperation around the theme of ‘Realising Opportunities of the 21st Century for All’.
The summit will set out to lead international efforts to develop a robust coordinated global response to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, safeguard the global economy and enhance international cooperation.
Discussions will centre on empowering people, protecting the planet and the resolution of global challenges through solutions that benefit all of humanity.
This virtual summit follows the extraordinary G20 Leaders’ Summit held on 26 March 2020, which resolved to develop a G20 Action plan in response to COVID-19, adopt a G20 Pandemic Preparedness and Response Initiative, and to close the short-term financing gap to combat COVID-19.
The leaders will assess progress made in the actions agreed upon.
President Ramaphosa will on Saturday participate in the first session on “Overcoming the Pandemic and Restoring Growth and Jobs”. This session will highlight ongoing efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, and ways to ensure affordable and equitable access to vaccines for all.
Later, the President will deliver a statement to the leaders’ side-event on “Pandemic Preparedness and Response”.
This side event will highlight the importance of long-term solutions to address gaps in global pandemic preparedness and response, and to ensure that the world is better prepared for future pandemics.
On Sunday, President Ramaphosa will participate in the session on “Building an Inclusive, Sustainable, and Resilient Future”.
This session will underscore the need to further empower women and youth, including through quality education, financial inclusion, bridge the digital divide, and support inclusive community development through tourism.
The G20 economies account for 85% of the global gross domestic product (GDP), 80% of world trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.
As the “premier global forum for international economic cooperation”, the G20’s value is based on its global leadership role, and convening power in bringing together leading advanced and emerging economies in times of crisis.
The summit will seek to find common ground on promoting sustainable development, which includes issues related to global health, trade and investment, digitalisation, climate change, the environment, energy sustainability, employment, women’s empowerment, agriculture, anti-corruption, education and tourism.
President Ramaphosa will be supported by the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Dr Naledi Pandor, and the Minister of Finance, Tito Mboweni. – SAnews.gov.za
