Extraordinary G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial virtual meeting

Enhance affordable access to medicines and easier movement of health professionals

• The Extraordinary G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial virtual meeting was held through video conferencing
• Indian Union Commerce and Industry minister Piyush Goyal participated in the video conference
• India called for further enhancing access to affordable medicines and facilitating easier movement of health professionals across national borders

Salient highlights of the virtual meeting

• The focus was given on enhancing access to affordable medicines and facilitating easier movement of health professionals across national borders
• It was discussed that that despite many challenges, India has been a dependable and affordable source of high quality medical and pharma products to nearly 190 countries around the world
• Piyush Goyal expressed solidarity with the world and expressed India’s support to all frontline health professionals, sanitation workers and other workers involved in maintaining the flow of essential services to fight the Corona virus pandemic
• India insisted that G20 members uphold their multilateral commitments
• The nations need to ponder over a framework under which critical medicines, medical equipment, diagnostic equipment and kits and health professionals can be deployed across territories at a short notice under a pre-decided protocol
• India also expressed its support to temporarily doing away with requirements such as customs and banks of producing the original documents by importers to obtain various clearances during the COVID-19 outbreak

Background for the extraordinary meeting

• The Extraordinary G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial virtual meeting was held less than a week after the first virtual G20 summit, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
• The summit was hosted by Saudi Arabia, the current chair of the group
• During the summit, the G20 leaders pledged to inject $5 trillion into the global economy to lessen the impact of the corona virus outbreak across the world

Addressing International Trade Disruptions

• Ensure the flow of vital medical supplies, critical agricultural products, and other goods and services across borders, and work to resolve disruptions to the global supply chains, to support the health and well-being of all people
• Continue working together to facilitate international trade and coordinate responses in ways that avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade
• Emergency measures aimed at protecting health will be targeted, proportionate, transparent, and temporary
• Reiterating our goal to realize a free, fair, non-discriminatory, transparent, predictable and stable trade and investment environment, and to keep our markets open

Enhancing Global Cooperation

• Working swiftly and decisively with the front-line international organizations, notably the WHO, IMF, WBG, and multilateral and regional development banks to deploy a robust, coherent, coordinated, and rapid financial package and to address any gaps in their toolkit
• Ready to strengthen the global financial safety nets ad calling upon all these organizations to further step up coordination of their actions, including with the private sector, to support emerging and developing countries facing the health, economic, and social shocks of COVID-19
• Task to top relevant officials to coordinate closely in support of the global efforts to counter the pandemic’s impacts, including through proportionate border management measures in accordance with national regulations and to provide assistance where necessary to repatriate citizens

Pic courtesy : affairscloud.com