G20 Member States’ Parliaments Stress Building Int’l Consensus Significance

The Conference of Parliamentary Speakers of the G20 countries issued a joint final statement today following the conclusion of the two-day Seventh Summit in the Italian capital, Rome, with the participation of the Saudi Shura Council’s delegation led by the Speaker of the Council, Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh, stressed the importance of building an international consensus on the main global economic and social situation, in light of the repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The Speakers reiterated that the G20, which includes the world’s largest economies, is the main platform for achieving that consensus, in addition to its ability to stimulate the permanent pursuit of coordinated, just and effective solutions that can establish a better and more sustainable future, and balanced and comprehensive growth, adding that the pandemic has disturbed societies, caused serious damage to the economy, employment, health care, social relations, and education, and led to an emergency that compounded other great challenges, such as climate change and the fight against inequality.

The statement urged the G20 states to prioritize food security and intensify their efforts to ensure safe and adequate nutrition to end all forms of malnutrition, protect agricultural biodiversity, develop science and innovation-based solutions, make advanced business practices compatible with local food practices, and develop science-based solutions and innovation taking into account local conditions, production systems, consumption patterns, and traditions, while stressing the importance of international trade to global food security and nutrition, based on an open, transparent and WTO-compliant multilateral trading system.

Moreover, the final statement made clear that the priorities of the G20 programs are based on three interrelated areas: peoples, the environment, and prosperity, indicating that the most effective approach to confronting the pandemic emanates from assuming common responsibilities and starting an international cooperation process that ensures multilateralism to confront threats and challenges.