Coronavirus pandemic remains top focus as Saudi gears up for G20 summit

In a first for an Arab country, Saudi Arabia will host G20 summit on Saturday that will focus on ramping up global efforts to fund coronavirus vaccine and tackle the worsening economic crisis. 

The two-day meeting will also be attended by Donald Trump, who has refused to concede defeat in the presidential election, despite several G20 leaders already congratulating Joe Biden for the victory.

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The draft of the upcoming summit also reflected the coronavirus crisis, which said G20 nations are committed to doing everything possible to contain the pandemic, excerpts of which were shared by news agency Reuters. 

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However, it also warned that a global economic recovery is still "uneven, highly uncertain, and subject to elevated downside risks".

The pandemic has forced the summit, which generally is an opportunity for one-on-one engagements, to be held digitally. 

Saudi Arabia's King Salman will preside over the meeting, with sources close to the organisers saying climate change was among the top agendas of the summit.  

World leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping are also expected to address the summit. 

Meanwhile, the so-called ACT-Accelerator, an initiative that promotes an equitable distribution of coronavirus vaccines, has urged G20 members to plug a $4.5 billion funding gap.