عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News

Saudi G20 Presidency: Moving From Recovery Towards a Prosperous Future

Saudi G20 Presidency: Moving From Recovery Towards a Prosperous Future
TT
TT

Saudi G20 Presidency: Moving From Recovery Towards a Prosperous Future

Saudi G20 Presidency: Moving From Recovery Towards a Prosperous Future

The 2020 G20 Riyadh Summit, which was held from November 21-22, was an exceptional affair. Faced with great challenges and responsibility, the Kingdom undertook the leadership of the forum during some of the toughest times brought about by the coronavirus pandemic which affected health, economic, and social facets of life.

It is not an exaggeration to say that it was a decisive year in which Saudi Arabia led G20 countries along the journey of protecting humanity and planet earth from the pandemic’s repercussions. The group held extraordinary meetings to find effective solutions at health, humanitarian, social, and economic levels.

Despite difficult circumstances, the Saudi presidency did not abandon the forum’s principal agenda.

The Kingdom’s presidency set human empowerment, preserving the planet, and shaping new horizons as three main axes that guide the work of the G20, and these axes remained important pillars for reaching solutions to limit the effects of the pandemic on the world.

On human empowerment, the Saudi presidency of the G20 committed itself to ensuring a comprehensive recovery from the pandemic’s fallout and to addressing inequality in receiving diagnostic tools, vaccines, and treatments.

The kingdom also eyed creating appropriate conditions that enable people to live, work, and prosper. G20 immediate actions included protecting lives and jobs from the pandemic’s aftermath.

On preserving the planet, Saudi Arabia worked to unite the stances of G20 countries to work on policies that promote a better more sustainable future, including the importance of conserving the environment and natural resources and addressing climate change.

On creating new horizons, the Saudi presidency poured its effort into speeding recovery from the pandemic. It did so through harnessing the potential of digital technologies and setting the necessary frameworks to promote equal opportunities and ensure electronic communication for all, especially in health services, education, and trade.

The Saudi presidency’s response to the pandemic was both quick and effective, as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - may God protect him - called for an extraordinary summit of G20 leaders last March, a first in G20 history, with the aim of discussing pandemic circumstances and finding ways to address them.

Saudi Arabia has managed to set a distinguished example for the whole world on crisis management. All leaders responded to this important call, actively and decisively approving a number of policies and initiatives that have contributed to limiting the health, social, and economic impacts of the pandemic in all countries.

Last month, G20 countries concluded their work for 2020 by holding the Riyadh Summit, where tangible success could be felt despite the exceptional circumstances. In its final statement, the summit launched major global initiatives and adopted important policies aimed at addressing the pandemic, protecting lives and livelihoods, and building a more robust, sustainable, and inclusive future.

Saudi Arabia received positive feedback from world leaders and international organizations who welcomed the final statement and recognized the huge efforts exerted by the kingdom in cooperation with fellow G20 states.

Going over G20 achievements this year, the Kingdom’s presidency worked to re-align the group’s plan of action to confront the pandemic. G20 leaders committed to taking all necessary measures to overcome the pandemic and protect lives, jobs, and vulnerable groups.

G20 states, collectively, pumped over 11 trillion dollars into the global economy. They also pledged more than 21 billion dollars at the beginning of the crisis to support international efforts to develop diagnostic tools, vaccines, and effective treatments.

Stemming out of its belief in the importance of supporting international efforts to immediately address the pandemic, Saudi Arabia contributed 500 million dollars.

Focused on restoring growth, the Saudi presidency led joint efforts to develop policies and initiatives centered on sparking strong, sustainable, balanced, and comprehensive growth.

G20 leaders also pledged to make all efforts to ensure that new coronavirus vaccines reach everyone in a fair way and that the remaining financing needs for these vaccines are met.

Also, G20 countries established the Debt Service Suspension Initiative, allowing 73 countries to be eligible for a temporary suspension of debt-service payments owed to their official bilateral creditors. This will reduce debt burdens on low-income and vulnerable countries.

A commitment was also made to ensure the flow of essential medical supplies and important agricultural products across borders, despite precautionary lockdown measures.

Overcoming obstacles laid out by the pandemic, the Saudi presidency of the G20 demonstrated great ability in advancing the forum's work through holding more than 224 international meetings and conferences.

The world will not forget Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20, especially that it carried forth the vision of providing a new impetus to global cooperation around the unifying theme of “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All”.

At the 2020 G20 Riyadh Summit, more than 50 outcomes were adopted next to over 20 ministerial statements. Such initiative showcases an edge of seriousness in enhancing international cooperation to face global challenges.

Compared to previous years, G20 meetings, which traditionally stand at a total of 85, jumped by some 90%. Recommendations, outcomes, and initiatives also doubled.

G20 leaders, under the Saudi presidency, reiterated unity in their belief that coordinating global actions, solidarity and multilateral cooperation was needed today more than ever to face present challenges.

In their final communique, leaders called for more than just working to recover from the current crisis and urged setting a vision for a "better future" beyond the pandemic.

Under the kingdom’s presidency, the G20 looked to improve protection from pandemics and epidemics in the future by drawing lessons from the current crisis.

Naturally, the Saudi presidency was keen to discuss ways to come up with long-term solutions that address gaps found in global pandemic response schemes. It voiced hope towards completing and enhancing these discussions during the upcoming Italian presidency of the G20.

Advocating a sustainable and secure future, the G20 Riyadh Summit also shed light on the need to prevent environmental degradation, conserve biodiversity, promote sustainable use of natural resources, and enact reform.

Preserving oceans, promoting clean air and clean water, responding to natural disasters and extreme weather events, and tackling climate change were cast among the most pressing challenges of our time.

--Saudi G20 Sherpa Dr. Fahad Bin Abdullah al-Mubarak

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Australia Toughens Kids' Social Media Ban

FILE - Three boys use their phones while sitting outside a school in Sydney, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
FILE - Three boys use their phones while sitting outside a school in Sydney, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
TT
TT

Australia Toughens Kids' Social Media Ban

FILE - Three boys use their phones while sitting outside a school in Sydney, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)
FILE - Three boys use their phones while sitting outside a school in Sydney, Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File)

Australia said on Saturday it would double the maximum penalty it can impose on tech firms that fail to uphold a ground-breaking social media ban for children, as evidence mounts that the ban has had little effect on teen use.

The government will also strengthen the information-gathering powers of its internet regulator, the eSafety Commissioner, allowing it to compel social media companies to provide evidence of what they have done to stop under-16s from getting an account.

Under the changes, the maximum penalty for systematic failures to uphold the ban jumps to A$99 million ($68 million) from A$49.5 million, Reuters reported.

The government reiterated that eSafety is actively investigating the possible non-compliance of five platforms: Meta's Instagram and Facebook, Google's YouTube, Snap's Snapchat and TikTok.

Google, Meta, Snap and TikTok did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Australia's plans outside regular business hours.

Australia's six-month-old ban is being closely watched by many nations ⁠seeking to emulate ⁠it due to concerns about the impact of social media on youth mental and physical health. Britain this month said it planned restrictions that go further as gaming and live-streaming platforms will also be affected.

"I'm heartened by the shift in conversation and the global momentum we’ve seen since introducing the social media minimum age, but it’s clear big tech are not doing enough to comply with the law – there are still too many children on social media," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.

The statement said that since the ban has been put in place, more than 5 million under-16 accounts have been deactivated ⁠or restricted.

But numerous studies have also shown that age-assurance mechanisms, such as taking a selfie, which have been put in place by tech companies, are easily circumvented by children and that in many cases, the children have never been asked to prove their age.

Among Sydney's grownups, Penny Lilley said on Sunday she doubted stiffer penalties would prompt improvements from platforms "when they make so much money as well off of people being on their websites.”

Another Sydneysider, Zara Keats, told Reuters she felt platforms "haven't really done as much as they said they were going to" in upholding the ban.

"I have family who are still using it actively, and I have to sort of sit there and pretend like it's not illegal for them to do so," Keats said.

According to a study published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday that looked at 408 adolescents, 85% of Australians aged 12 to 15 were still using social media three months after the ban took effect. ⁠Two-thirds of underage users stayed online ⁠by self-declaring an age over 16 or posting a selfie that the platform accepted as over 16, it said.

In April, an industry body representing tech suppliers blamed problems enforcing the ban on social media platforms' weak deployment of tools available to run age checks rather than the limits of the technology.

"Based on the regular updates I receive from the eSafety Commissioner, it is clear to me that social media platforms are adopting tricks straight out of the big tech playbook and doing the bare minimum to get by," Minister for Communications Anika Wells said in the statement.

In addition to empowering the regulator to demand information from the social media platforms, planned updates to the law will also allow it to gather information from third parties such as age-assurance or app store providers to assist in testing claims made by the platforms.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said the timing of introducing the amendments to the law to parliament had not yet been decided, but the government would have more to say on the matter soon.

Message board website Reddit is separately challenging the ban in Australia's highest court, seeking to overturn it on free speech grounds. The government has said it will defend against the lawsuit.

Varieties

Su Filindeu…World’s Rarest Pasta

A woman wearing glasses and an embroidered apron pulls and stretches pasta dough into numerous thin strands (The New York Times)
A woman wearing glasses and an embroidered apron pulls and stretches pasta dough into numerous thin strands (The New York Times)
TT
TT

Su Filindeu…World’s Rarest Pasta

A woman wearing glasses and an embroidered apron pulls and stretches pasta dough into numerous thin strands (The New York Times)
A woman wearing glasses and an embroidered apron pulls and stretches pasta dough into numerous thin strands (The New York Times)

Sardinia: Matt Goulding

In the mountains of Northern Sardinia, a 300-year-old pilgrimage comes with a serving of the world’s rarest pasta.

The name tells you all you need to know about the significance of Sardinia’s most elusive pasta: su filindeu, the threads of God. Of the more than 350 officially recognized shapes of pasta in Italy, this is considered the rarest.

Paola Abraini is one of only a handful of people who still know how to make su filindeu. “To lose this tradition would be like losing a piece of our identity,” she said.

Stretched by hand, a single ball of dough is converted into 256 gossamer strands that are stretched across a drying rack called a fundo in a triangular pattern, to evoke the Holy Trinity.
She holds up the circular board covered in a grid pattern with the pasta strands.

It’s a meticulous process that has proven difficult to pass down to younger generations. Every detail of su filindeu matters, including its relationship with its Mediterranean environs. “When it is dried in the sun it becomes light and golden,” said Abraini.

Twenty years ago, Abraini was among the last custodians of the vanishing foodway. But her tireless work as a teacher has helped bring it back from the brink of extinction.

For most of its centuries-long history, su filindeu was a tradition passed down through a single line of matriarchs from Nuoro, a town in the mountainous interior of the island. In fact, Abraini came to learn the intricate craft from her mother-in-law at 16.

Whereas most handmade pasta in Italy is rolled out with a wooden dowel called a mattarello, every pass of su filindeu dough halves the width and doubles the number of strands. Do that eight times and you end up with the requisite 256 threads.

Such finesse requires a not-so-secret ingredient: salt, which tightens the network of gluten in the flour, giving the dough the elasticity required to stretch so thin.

It’s not a recipe that can be read and recreated by enterprising cooks in kitchens abroad; the technique must be felt in the flesh, learned through repetition and error until the fingertips know the difference between just right and just wrong.

To master it requires mastering many variables, including the effect of hard water versus soft water, when to add the salt solution, how to adjust to the weather.

This level of dedication has made younger generations of local women reluctant to take up the practice.

Many have come to Nuoro to learn but few have succeeded at the intricate craftwork. Even the pasta barons of Barilla, the world’s largest pasta company, couldn’t crack the code for these noodles.

Su filindeu is closely bound to its home in the north of Sardinia, a sparsely populated tableau of verdant flora and sheer stone, hearty food and strong beliefs.

Much of the island’s history and culture have been defined by isolation, nowhere more so than Nuoro, which Grazia Deledda, the 1926 Nobel Prize-winning writer who grew up there, called “the most cultured and combative town on the island.”

At the heart of that culture is a biannual Catholic pilgrimage, which begins in the church of Rosario di Nuoro in May and October.

Some of the town’s oldest, and youngest, citizens make the trek.

At midnight on May 1, hundreds of pilgrims set out from Nuoro. Together they traverse over 20 miles of mountainous terrain to the church of San Francesco di Lula.

Some travel in groups of family and friends, telling stories and trading gossip deep into the night. Others prefer a solitary journey of reflection through the darkness.

Orange light peeks out from behind a mountain as the sun rises, a small forest in the foreground.

The first groups of pilgrims arrive at San Francesco di Lula shrine just as the sun rises above the limestone crest of the Monte Albo massif — a spiritual journey now illuminated.

Local lore has it that a bandit back in the 17th century was falsely accused of murder. After being exonerated, he built a church outside the village of Lula and dedicated it to Saint Francis of Assisi, defender of the poor and steward of nature.

The overnight journey evokes a wide range of emotions in Sardinia’s pilgrims — joy, hope, solemnity and catharsis.

The pilgrims endure the journey and the community responds with restorative hospitality: water and coffee, a footbath, and eventually, a bowl of pasta.

Ask five pilgrims why they make the journey, and you’ll get varied answers: For faith. For pride. For a loved one. For exercise. And, of course, for pasta.

One thing that most pilgrims agree on: this is as good as su filindeu gets. For centuries, it was served exclusively at San Francesco di Lula. But recently a few restaurants in Sardinia started to serve the pasta outside of the pilgrimage.

Context is everything, though. Eaten any other time, the dish doesn’t taste the way it does after an overnight mountain hike. It’s the effort that matters — both in the making of the pasta and the pilgrimage to eat it.

Sheep, many of which live in those same mountains, outnumber humans two to one on Sardinia. They play a central role in island culture and cuisine — including as the base for the su filindeu broth.

It takes a village to make the dish, but the division of kitchen labor at San Francesco di Lula is clear: men make the broth, and women cook (and bless) the pasta.

Soft cubes of sheep’s milk cheese are stirred into the broth just before serving. The final creation is more delicate than the sheep-on-sheep treatment would suggest — aromatic, gentle, almost sweet.

For three centuries, the pasta and the pilgrimage have been inexorably connected.
The power of the pilgrimage is found in the balance between solitude and community, sacrifice and hospitality, pain and pleasure.

Seated at the long communal tables, some of the pilgrims have consumed dozens of bowls of su filindeu over the course of decades. Others are just beginning their journey.

The New York Times

Business

Sudan Edges Closer to Currency Split

A 1,000-pound note print (X)
A 1,000-pound note print (X)
TT
TT

Sudan Edges Closer to Currency Split

A 1,000-pound note print (X)
A 1,000-pound note print (X)

Sudan’s division is no longer confined to geography, administration and public services. It has begun to touch one of the state’s most sensitive institutions.

New 1,000- and 500-pound banknotes, issued by the Central Bank of Sudan in May 2022, have been observed circulating in areas controlled by the Rapid Support Forces, raising questions about the future of the national currency's unity and the central bank’s ability to maintain authority over the country’s cash supply.

The RSF-aligned government, based in Nyala, has allowed the circulation of banknotes bearing the signature of former Central Bank of Sudan governor Hussein Yahia Jangol after reappointing him to the same post as governor of what it calls a parallel central bank.

The Nyala government has banned other denominations bearing the signature of Burai al-Siddiq, who succeeded Jangol at the central bank. Meanwhile, Mohamed Hasan al-Taishi, prime minister of the parallel government, has announced monetary and banking policies that he said are aimed at building an integrated financial system.

Asharq Al-Awsat has learned from a source whose identity has not been definitively established that the circulation of new banknotes in RSF-controlled areas is not the first such case. It remains unclear whether the notes had been stored previously or were newly printed.

Bankers and economists say the danger lies not in the banknote itself, but in the authority controlling its issuance and circulation, and in the possible impact on the effectiveness of economic policy, confidence in the national currency and the stability of the financial system.

Experts say the effectiveness of monetary policy depends mainly on the Central Bank of Sudan’s ability to exercise authority over the money supply, manage liquidity, ease pressure on the foreign exchange market, control inflation and support exchange-rate stability.

If cash circulates outside that authority, measuring the money supply becomes more complicated. It also weakens the monetary authorities’ ability to fight inflation, manage liquidity, contain pressure on the exchange rate, maintain price stability and protect the financial system.

According to data released by the Central Bank of Sudan in April, money supply growth stood at 27.3%, reflecting challenges in liquidity management, especially given the exceptional conditions the country faces.

Experts say the circulation of banknotes in RSF-controlled areas further complicates measuring the money supply, particularly the component of currency circulating outside the banking system.

It also reduces the accuracy of monetary indicators and weakens the design and implementation of monetary policy, leading to lower confidence in the national currency and limiting the ability of institutions to enforce economic policies uniformly across the country.

According to the Central Bank of Sudan’s economic and financial review issued last December, currency held by the public accounted for about 97.4% of total currency in circulation, compared with only 2.6% held by commercial banks.

This high level of cash circulating outside the banking system points to the spread of direct cash transactions, limiting the banking sector’s ability to mobilize savings and making liquidity management more difficult.

Experts say any additional circulation of cash outside the central bank’s authority would deepen economic imbalances and obstruct the management of the money supply and the stability of the monetary and financial systems.

Informal economy

Recent studies indicate that Sudan’s informal economy accounts for about 60% of economic activity, a high level that limits the effectiveness of policy and weakens the state’s ability to measure and manage it.

Sudan’s economy still relies heavily on cash transactions compared with electronic payment methods. Despite recent developments in banking applications, financial inclusion and banking penetration remain below the required level. This strengthens the parallel economy and limits the efficiency of economic policies and their development into a “real” economy.

From the perspective of experts and bankers, the scenario of Sudan moving toward two banking systems appears technically and institutionally unlikely in the near term. Establishing an independent banking system requires more than issuing banknotes.

It requires a central bank capable of carrying out its core functions, including managing monetary policy, operating payment and settlement systems, supervising and regulating banks, managing reserves and establishing banking relationships with foreign correspondent banks. These requirements are difficult to meet under current conditions.

Financial bodies have warned that the continuation of the conflict could lead to the emergence of a parallel financial network carrying out banking functions informally, especially money transfers, cash movement and local trade financing.

Two central banks

Some countries that have suffered prolonged conflicts, such as Somalia, have seen the significant development of private money transfer networks that have effectively performed part of the banking system’s functions, while remaining outside the official regulatory framework. In Sudan’s case, the expansion of such channels could reduce the role of the formal banking sector.

Although Sudan does not yet have a parallel central bank exercising full institutional functions, as is the case in eastern Libya, this may depend on how long the conflict continues.

Sudan could gradually move closer to the Libyan model, with the Sudanese pound remaining one national currency legally, while multiple banknote issues circulate, acceptance levels vary from one region to another and partial cash markets emerge.

Sudanese authorities had previously ruled out the possibility that the RSF would print a new currency through companies or in countries subject to the global banking system.

Former Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi told Asharq Al-Awsat that what happened was natural and expected, given the continuation of a fierce war for more than three years.

Elbadawi said the larger dilemma was the “insistence on war,” despite the difficulty of either side achieving a “decisive victory.” He added: “Most civil conflicts end in political settlements, and this is especially true of the Sudanese war.”

Tasis Prime Minister Mohamed Hasan al-Taishi said in press remarks that his government was moving ahead with monetary and banking policies to build an integrated financial system. He did not comment directly on reports about the introduction of new banknotes in Nyala.

Taishi said citizens in areas administered by his government had faced difficulties obtaining banking services and making money transfers due to conditions imposed by the war and institutional divisions.

The man leading the RSF-aligned government and the Tasis alliance renewed accusations against the army-led government, saying it had targeted citizens in areas under his control by “changing the currency,” draining markets of cash and using liquidity as a pressure card and a tool of war.

He said that all matters related to currency printing fall under the authority of the monetary authorities and relevant technical bodies. Any arrangements related to cash management or liquidity provision, he said, are carried out in accordance with carefully studied technical plans aimed at maintaining economic stability and meeting the needs of citizens and markets.

Taishi announced last May the creation of a “Transitional Currency Council,” defining its role as regulating monetary and banking affairs, managing currency circulation, supervising currency replacement programs and granting banking licenses in coordination with the governor of the Central Bank of Sudan in Nyala.

In recent months, the Tasis government established Future Bank, the first commercial bank to offer several banking services, including foreign currency transfers.

After the war broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF in April 2023, banks went completely out of service in the western region of Darfur. This led to a severe liquidity shortage in markets and the deterioration of banknotes in circulation, while the Sudanese government continued to tighten controls at crossings to prevent any new currency from entering those areas.