King Salman says saving lives, finding coronavirus vaccine most important priorities

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz affirmed that the most important current priorities are about saving lives, finding a vaccine for the corona pandemic, and combating its health, social and economic consequences.

This came in a speech delivered on his behalf by Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, while receiving the final communique of The Think 20 (T20) Group.

King Salman thanked the T20 group represented by the President and the participating members who worked together and discussed solutions to various global challenges.

“We all need to cooperate and work together, especially in light of the current circumstances accompanying the coronavirus pandemic,” the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques added.

He also thanked the King Abdullah Center for Petroleum Studies and Research and the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, for their exceptional performance in leading the T20 this year.

“The pandemic was not an obstacle to the continuity of the Kingdom’s presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20), on the contrary, it stimulated international energies to work and seek solutions to this crisis, as the meetings and workshops of the Kingdom’s Presidency Program and communication groups continued, and to deal with our new reality with courage and creativity, hoping for a better world in stability. And health and food security,” the Saudi King pointed out.

The T20 presented its concept and vision on several topics affecting humanity, its health, economy and development, and the topics varied to include trade, investment and growth Climate change, environment and food security, the importance of investment in infrastructure, the future of international multilateral cooperation and global governance, and vital issues that affect the daily reality, the most important of which are education, the labor market, empowering young people to create their job opportunities, advance themselves and their families, and contribute to global development.

“In T20, you emphasized that education in the era of digital innovation includes everyone, without discrimination or discrimination, and at the same time, we affirm the keenness of the Kingdom’s Presidency of the G20 to discuss the need to keep pace with the change in the nature of education and work and to qualify society to acquire new skills that are compatible with the trends,” he added.

The future labor market and providing opportunities for young men and women to build a promising economic future and strengthen social protection systems, King Salman said.

The T20 also discussed the G20’s support for the sustainable development goals, including accelerating universal health coverage, especially in light of the pandemic, which are important and vital topics that require strengthening international multilateral cooperation to address them in light of the effects the world is suffering from the effects of the corona pandemic.

“In light of the pandemic we are experiencing, the importance of finding means to strengthen financial systems sufficiently to confront global crises, support the restoration of capital flows to emerging markets and developing countries, and the importance of strengthening and facilitating

global trade and international investment routes and taking advantage of the digital economy to advance the global economy from its slump,” the Saudi King explained.

G20 members have had many opportunities to enhance cooperation and discussions on new ways to face environmental challenges and more effective management of emissions of all kinds, which are essential to achieving international climate goals and enhancing access to energy to meet the requirements of inclusive economic growth and sustainable development for all.

“We have no doubt that think tanks have a prominent and effective role in supporting economic and social policymaking, and your group has done a great job this year,” King Salman added.

The T20 issued many recommendations for these urgent issues and others, and we look forward to coming up with international solutions and initiatives that reinforce the role of the G20 with regard to the unified international response to fight the corona pandemic and its urgent economic, health and social consequences, and other challenges that we all face, he stated

“Based on what we agreed upon as leaders of the G20 during the Extraordinary Leaders’ Summit, our most important current priorities are about saving lives, finding a vaccine for the corona pandemic and combating its health, social and economic consequences, and working closely to build a strong global health system that helps us fight the existing epidemic and its near-term effects,” King Salman affirmed.

“We had hoped that hosting the 20 summit of the Connecting Thought Group would be in Riyadh, the capital of the Kingdom, but unfortunately, the pandemic prevented us from that, and we look forward to your visit to the Kingdom after the end of the pandemic so that you will find the most beautiful hosting and enjoy the genuine generosity,” King Salman added.