Conclusion of the G-20 summit: someone goes out

It’s almost like real life. When the decrepit King Salman of Saudi Arabia hesitantly utters words of welcome at the start of the virtual G-20 summit, the connection from Moscow shows only an empty white chair. Russian President Vladimir Putin, known as a notorious laggard, remains true to himself even in times of the crown.

Which is also true of Donald Trump. For a long time it was unclear whether the US president-elect would also give a farewell performance at the G-20 summit. Before a trip to the golf course, you can then arrange a participation at the beginning of the video conference. The other heads of state and government experience it as they know it: blurry. During the session, Trump tweets about his favorite topic, alleged election fraud.

Trump treats other attendees with self-praise

Saudi Arabia presented itself differently at this year’s meeting of the largest and most powerful national economies and wanted to present itself to the world in Riyadh as an international actor who is attentive to power but also responsible. The pandemic has thwarted all of this, but it has also made the summit urgent, moved to the digital world. “The Covid 19 pandemic was an unprecedented shock that hit the whole world in a very short time and led to economic and social losses,” says the 84-year-old king in his opening words. They will do their best “to overcome the crisis through international cooperation”. This should be the message of this video summit.

It is openly opposed by just one person, Trump. As expected, the current president refuses to admit to showing solidarity in the fight against the pandemic and to providing vaccines to the poorest countries. Instead, he praised the other attendees himself and announced that any American who requested it would be vaccinated. Trump points out that US companies Moderna and Pfizer have developed vaccines and deliberately ignores Pfizer’s German partner Biontech in the process. On another topic at the summit, climate change, he once again stated that the Paris Agreement is “very unfair and one-sided”.

This is a “difference of opinion that is not new,” Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) later states. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) noted that one participant used the summit to “represent his own greatness”. In any case, the other participants try to detach themselves from such selfishness on the virtual stage of the summit. Russian President Putin offers the Sputnik V vaccine developed in his country and points out that researchers are developing a second and third corona vaccine. China remains committed to making vaccines available to developing countries, President Xi Jinping said.

South Africa insists on debt cancellation

“If we stick together around the world, we can control and overcome the virus and its consequences,” Merkel advertises. To contain the pandemic, access to the vaccine must be “possible and affordable” for each country. The nearly five billion US dollars (4.2 billion euros) made available for this purpose in an international program to date, more than a tenth of that of Germany, have not been enough.

In addition to providing more money, the World Health Organization (WHO) also needs to be strengthened, says Merkel. This also includes Trump, who has ordered the United States to leave WHO – a decision his designated successor Joe Biden intends to revoke immediately upon taking office. French President Emmanuel Macron also stressed the importance of the WHO. This has to develop a “fair mechanism” for vaccine distribution. The pandemic requires a “global, coordinated and supportive response”.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa makes an urgent appeal to close the gap in funding the global vaccination program, which is estimated at $ 4.5 billion. Access to the vaccine must be “universal, fair and affordable”. This could “save lives immediately” and “show a way out of this global crisis”. Above all, however, Ramaphosa insists on a central concern of Africans, the fullest possible debt relief.

Currently $ 6 billion deferred

In the summit statement, the G-20 refers to a debt moratorium for the poorest countries that will apply until June 2021. Finance ministers and central bank governors should now check whether an extension is needed. Scholz calls the moratorium a “big and important” measure. There is currently $ 6 billion pending that could be invested to combat the consequences of the pandemic. In principle, the G-20 countries promise to use “all available policy tools for as long as it takes to secure the lives, jobs and incomes” of people around the world. The statement breathes “the spirit of multilateral cooperation”, praises Merkel.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte thinks in the same way, calling for greater collaboration at the video summit “in order to react to the crises of the future”. Your country will take over the G20 presidency next year. Together with the European Commission, he wants to host a global health summit, preferably in the real world.

Published: 11/22/2020, 7:50 pm