Finance ministers and central bank governors of G20 member countries will hold a second videoconference on Tuesday to strengthen measures against the coronavirus pandemic, the Saudi hosts said.
The twenty economic powers have pledged to make " common front " in the fight against the Covid-19 claiming to be ready to inject 5,000 billion dollars into the world economy, while forecasts point to an imminent deep recession.
Saudi Arabia, who holds the rotating presidency of the G20, said the meeting would serve to " advance the coordinated global response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its human and economic consequences ."
US President Donald Trump, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and French Head of State Emmanuel Macron will participate as criticism grows against the G20. The group is criticized for its lack of responsiveness to the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 37,500 people worldwide and forced some two out of five humans to be confined.
A " moratorium " on economic sanctions hitting several countries?
In an interview on Monday, Trump and Putin "agreed to work closely at the G20" in the fight against the coronavirus and to stem the economic crisis linked to containment measures, the closing of borders and social distancing, according to press releases from the White House and the Kremlin published separately.
According to a Chinese source, of the 5,000 billion, China, from which the epidemic started, has alone " communicated " the figure of 344 billion, mainly in tax measures.
For his part, President Putin proposed Thursday a " moratorium " on economic sanctions on several countries including his because of the economic crisis caused by the spread of the coronavirus. The Russian economy was severely affected by the global crisis caused by the pandemic, in particular due to the fall in the price of oil and, in turn, that of the ruble. Russia has already been experiencing economic difficulties since 2014, due to the international sanctions imposed on it in connection with the conflict in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea.