Ministers of trade and investment from the group of twenty of the world’s largest economies, also known as the G20, will meet on Tuesday, September 22 to discuss trade policy cooperation, Saudi Arabia has said. Saudi Arabia currently leads the G20 presidency, and Saudi Ministers of Commerce and Investment Dr. Majid Al Qasabi and Khaled Al Faleh will chair the meeting. The Saudi government highlighted in a statement that the meeting is intended to strengthen trade and investment policy cooperation towards inclusive and sustainable economic growth. The ministerial meeting comes amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has disrupted trade and global value chains. According to the Saudi government, the Ministers will discuss progress made on the “G20 Actions to Support World Trade and Investment in Response to COVID-19” agreed upon on May 14, 2020. Plans to reform the World Trade Organisation (WTO) will also be discussed, particularly discussions will revolve around how to encourage greater international competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSMEs). The aim is to foster economic diversification and to strengthen international investment. During the May extraordinary meeting of trade and investment ministers, G20 leaders pledged collective action to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on trade and investment (PDF) and help foster global economic recovery. The actions included short-term responses designed to prevent trade logjams and facilitate trade in products needed to contain Covid-19, as well as build resilience in global supply chains, and strengthen international investment. Saudi Arabian presidency will culminate in mid-November with the Leaders’ Summit, which according to the group’s agenda, is still on course to be held in the capital Riyadh.
