G20 leaders to discuss Covid recovery plan, vaccine distribution on Saturday; back debt relief
India TodayThe leaders of the 20 biggest world economies are scheduled to meet on Saturday to discuss how to deal with the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic that has caused a global recession, the post-pandemic world and how to manage the recovery of the economies once the coronavirus is under control. "The main theme will be to step up global cooperation to address the pandemic," said a senior G20 official taking part in the preparations for the two-day summit, chaired by Saudi Arabia and held virtually because of the pandemic. While the global economy is recovering from the depths of the crisis earlier this year, momentum is slowing in countries with resurging infection rates, the recovery is uneven and the pandemic is likely to leave deep scars, the International Monetary Fund said in a report for the G20 summit. Especially vulnerable are poor and highly indebted countries in the developing world, which are "on the precipice of financial ruin and escalating poverty, hunger and untold suffering", United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday. However, the European members of the G20 are likely to push for more as they say that more debt relief is needed in view of the year-long pandemic situation across the world.