Saudi Arabia accepts India's proposal for virtual G20 Summit amid coronavirus outbreak

Saudi Arabia, current chair of G20 bloc, has accepted a proposal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold an "extraordinary" virtual G20 Summit next week, eight months before it is meant to be held in Saudi capital Riyh. decision to go virtual comes amid fear of coronavirus pandemic that has swept across world and killed nearly 9,000 people so far.

Moreover, given extraordinary circumstances, world leers have been engaging with each or online, from European Union summits to SAARC. G20 is a club of twenty major ecomies of world including India, China, Japan, Australia, US, several EU, African and South American countries.

In a statement, Kingdom said, " Saudi G20 Presidency is communicating with G20 countries to convene an extraordinary virtual G20 Leers' Summit next week to vance a coordinated response to COVID-19 pandemic and its human and ecomic implications."

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Saudi Arabia said that bloc leers will "put forward a coordinated set of policies to protect people and safeguard global ecomy". bloc is expected to consult on a swift, coordinated response to worries that global ecomy is heing towards a recession as vel coronavirus wreaks havoc on financial markets and hits consumer spendings. 

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India pitches idea after SAARC summit

anuncement from Kingdom comes a day after PM Modi discussed need for coordination and drawing up of a strategy at level of G20 with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a telephonic conversation. external affairs ministry said  PM Modi mentioned India’s recent initiative to organise a video conference among SAARC countries and pitched a similar idea for G20 to Prince Salman.

Both leers "agreed that a similar exercise at level of G20 leers, under aegis of Saudi Arabia as Chair of G20, would be useful at a global scale, both for discussing specific measures to dress challenges posed by global outbreak of Covid-19 and also to instil confidence in global populace," statement said.

PM Modi h also pitched this idea to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week, who said he thinks it is a “commendable initiative”. A teleconference of SAARC countries was held on Sunday, March 15, where member nations pledged funds, technical expertise and kwledge sharing to combat coronavirus.

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Coronavirus crisis

First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, vel coronavirus termed COVID-19 has affected nearly 148 countries in world. Presently, re are over two lakh confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to death of nearly 9,000 people. As re is vaccine or specific antidote to COVID-19, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its scope. So far, China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran have witnessed most number of confirmed cases of vel coronavirus.

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(Photo: Twitter/@narendramodi)