In December 2019, Saudi Arabia became the first Arab nation to take over the presidency of the G20. It will host the G20 Summit in November next year in its capital, Riyadh.
It took over the presidency from Japan, where the 2019 G20 Summit was held.
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia assumes the G20 Presidency today, leading up to the summit in Riyadh” in 2020, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said recently.
On the occasion of the Presidency launch, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister said:
“The Saudi G20 Presidency is committed to continuing the work from Osaka and promoting multilateral consensus. Working with our G20 partners, we will strive to deliver concrete actions and realize opportunities to enable us to face the challenges of the future.”
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is at the crossroads of three continents – Asia, Africa and Europe. In hosting the G20, the Kingdom will have an important role to play by sharing the perspective of the Middle East and North Africa region. We believe this will be a unique opportunity to shape consensus on international issues as we welcome the world to the Kingdom.”
According to PR Newswire, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will work on the G20 under the theme of “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All.” Further, it will work towards three major goals:
- Empowering People, by creating the conditions in which all people—especially women and young people—can live, work and thrive.
- Safeguarding the Planet, by fostering collective efforts on food and water security, climate, energy and environment.
- Shaping New Frontiers, by adopting long-term, bold strategies to share the benefits of innovation and technological advancement.
In the run-up to the G-20 Summit, Saudi will also hold dozens of events and conferences.
What is G20?
G20 is an international forum for economic cooperation between the largest economies of the world. Its members comprise of 19 member nations and the European Union. Currently, its members include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.
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