The Think20 (T20) engagement group concluded its meetings on Sunday, presenting 32 recommendations, proposed by 11 working groups, to G20 president, Saudi Arabia.
The recommendations tackle ways to resolve current world problems, such as the repercussions of the novel coronavirus and issues related to climate change.
The concluding statement of the T20 stressed that the coronavirus pandemic has created crises that require several measures to address. It warned of the emergence of social and economic divides sparked by the pandemic throughout the world if countries fail to limit the negative impact of the crisis.
The T20 called for more cooperation and coordination to limit the fallout from health crises. It stressed the importance of health and the need to boost global preparedness and funding dedicated to this sector. It said that health was an investment and a main factor in achieving long-term global development. This is an opportunity to transform health investments into an approach that focuses on peoples and providing health services to everyone.
It recommended ensuring that health care is comprehensive throughout the world, noting that the United Nations has agreed to provide solutions by 2030 with the achievement of sustainable developments goals. This includes providing high-quality basic health services, providing medicine and vaccines at reasonable prices to all.
The T20 also called for forming cooperative teams that are dedicated to bolstering global economic safety networks during health crises. It underlined the importance of diagnosing diseases in confronting future pandemics and boosting global solidarity in confronting the coronavirus pandemic and future health crises. It also stressed the need for coordination between countries on financial levels to confront the pandemic and organize joint work to support low income countries.
It called for the need to fix the global financial security network and expanding its scope to raise its flexibility in dealing with shocks. It demanded that cooperation be improved between members of the G20 and non-members alike, reform governance and improve the main duties of the World Trade Organization.
The T20 also called for expanding the scope of participation of multilateral stakeholders in the G20 to allow them to confront challenges impacting the global economy, such as health, climate change and global conflicts. It urged boosting cooperation to plug the investment gap to achieve a flexible sustainable infrastructure and restructure the financial system to support sustainable development goals. Moreover, it called for boosting cooperation between countries of the Middle East and Africa with the G20 through improving trade and diversifying economies.
