B20 Saudi Arabia, the official voice of business to the G20, has announced a six-point plan designed to combat the current global pandemic and lay a foundation to address future resurgences of the disease.
The warning of a potential 'second wave' of the virus in coming months comes in concert with the launch of a new special report by B20, which was developed in collaboration with business leaders and leading multilateral orgsations around the world.
B20 wanted to get consensus from the business world on how governments can better support the private sector during the crisis, protect the economy and prepare for future crises. More than 750 business leaders from the G20 countries and beyond, including from multinational corporations and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSME), provided input.
The proposed areas of focus of the six-point plan titled 'Jump-Starting the Global Economy Post-COVID-19 Phase' are wide-ranging and include building health resilience, safeguarding the human capital, preventing financial stability, unclogging global supply chains, reviving productive sectors and digitising responsibly and inclusively.
"As the group representing the official voice of business to the G20, it was incumbent upon us to consider the role we, as business leaders, can and must play in addressing this global pandemic -- particularly as we see a resurgence of the virus in several economies around the world," said Yousef Al-Benyan, Chair of B20 Saudi Arabia.
"While a cure to the virus is the ultimate health goal, we must identify how the private and public sector can cooperate to create an environment that instills safety, integrity and confidence while advancing economic prosperity," he said.
In response to COVID-19, B20 Saudi Arabia formed a committee in March to look at how businesses were responding to and managing the pandemic by identifying best practices and lessons learned.
The efforts resulted in the capture of a set of recommendations in alignment with the group's policy recommendations that will be put forth to the G20 for inclusion in their official communique this November.
The recommendations are aligned with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals as a further commitment by the global business community to achieving those priorities by 2030.
Through the report, B20 Saudi Arabia said it reiterates its support to the G20 and proposes a set of inclusive, actionable recommendations to address the immediate health crisis and commence a post-COVID-19 recovery phase.
The G20 and multilateral institutions including the World Health Orgsation, the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund should substantially improve information and experience sharing, and create a coordinated monitoring system.
"There is no alternative to global cooperation and consensus to overcome a multi-dimensional and systemic crisis. Multilateral institutions, governments and businesses must be more agile and adaptable in their operating models if we indeed are to return the global economy to a path of growth," added Al-Benyan.
Led by global business leaders, B20 Saudi Arabia has appointed six task-forces to focus on current worldwide challenges: digitalisation; energy, sustainability and climate; finance and infrastructure, future of work and education; integrity and compliance; and trade and investment.
In addition, B20 Saudi Arabia has created a signature initiative through the Women in Business Action Council. Aligned across all task-forces, the council is committed to making gender equality and increasing women's participation in business, especially at leadership positions as the top of the agenda for policy recommendations made by the B20 to the G20 leaders in 2020.
The B20 Saudi Arabia Summit will be held in Riyadh on October 26 and 27.
( With inputs from ANI )