Leaders of the Group of 20 nations will hold a summit on Thursday, March 26 via video conference to discuss measures to protect the global economy, amid coronavirus pandemic which has claimed over 18,000 lives globally. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the G20 conference on the coronavirus pandemic through video conferencing.
The summit, which will be chaired by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, aims to "advance a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its human and economic implications," according to the statement published by the G20 Secretariat on Tuesday.
An unprecedented move, the conference has been named G20 Virtual and is being chaired by Saudi Arabia. It is expected that an action plan will be prepared to fight the coronavirus.
Discussion on how to prevent the spread of coronavirus
According to sources, the video conferencing will take place from 5:30 pm on Thursday evening till 7 pm On Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi tweeted that the G20 is going to play an important role in facing the COVID-19 threat. It is believed that in the meeting there will be an effective discussion on how to prevent the spread of coronavirus and the measures to mitigate its effect.
'I look forward to productive discussions at the G20 Virtual Summit': PM Modi
Prime Minister Modi himself has said that he is expecting an effective and beneficial discussion on this issue. PM Modi said, "The G20 has an important global role to play in addressing the #COVID19 pandemic. I look forward to productive discussions tomorrow at the G20 Virtual Summit, being coordinated by the Saudi G20 Presidency."
During the G20 meeting, a wide-ranging discussion on the treatment of coronavirus is also likely to take place. The member countries may also discuss and announce a package to deal with the crisis.
Otherworld leaders at the G20 Virtual Summit
The other members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union.
In view of the coronavirus outbreak situation, several international organisations -- including the United Nations, World Bank, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization will take part.
Currently, over 150 countries are affected by the coronavirus. According to data from the John Hopkins University, 4,38,000 people worldwide have been infected with this disease, and the death toll has crossed 20,000.
Leaders from the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Financial Stability Board, the International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development -- will also be the part of the conference.
The lethal virus which was first detected in December last year in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has since, infected over 4,14,179 people around the world.
The coronavirus has already resulted in major disruption of global supply chains, volatility and large drops in the stock market and could cause a financial crisis as stated by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva
