Saudi Arabia is et to lead the Global Response Pledging in order to raise funds to fight and overcome the coronavirus pandemic.
As the holder of the G20 Presidency, Saudi Arabia will work with the European Union, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Norway in the bid.
“The pledging event aims to raise funds for the immediate need of $8 billion, which the Global Preparedness and Monitoring Board stated is urgently required to develop and deliver a COVID-19 vaccine, along with diagnostics and therapeutic resources,” said the G20 Saudi Secretariat in a statement.
The Saudi G20 Presidency called on global partners to support the funding campaign “to ensure that we can say, for generations to come, that we defeated COVID-19 as a global community.”
The Kingdom has already pledged US$500 million to support the global fundraising efforts.
“The global pandemic requires a global response and international collaboration. Our priority, as an international community, is to safeguard people and their livelihoods and make sure the opportunities to recover from this pandemic exist for all,” said the statement.
“G20 members have taken unprecedented action at an unprecedented speed to address the major disruptions caused by the pandemic on public health and the global economy,” it added.
Watch below the Covid-19 (Dubai) - Heroes of the Pandemic video: