The G20 in Rome opened with the theme of the economy and health at the top of the leaders' agenda. And despite the complexity of the topics to be addressed Mario Draghi, Italian premier and outgoing president of the G20, has made it clear that the group of the 20 most industrialized countries in the world is working to build a new economic model that makes the world better; to remove trade barriers on Covid-19 vaccines for the benefit of less wealthy countries; to achieve a fairer recovery also through a more balanced global minimum taxation. "We are building a new economic model and the world will be better", these are the words spoken by Mario Draghi who had a discussion on this issue on Friday interview with US President Joe Biden at Palazzo Chigi. In conclusion, for the great challenges facing the world, multilateralism is the only way to achieve success.
G20, DRAGONS: TRADE BARRIERS ON COVID-19 VACCINES
«As presidency of the G20 – Mario Draghi began on Saturday morning in his opening speech at the G20 summit in Rome – Italy has worked to promote a more equitable recovery. The Global Health Summit in Rome saw countries and companies make generous efforts to provide vaccines to the poorest countries: we must be sure to honor the promises. We have reached a historic agreement for a fairer and more effective international taxation system. We oversaw the allocation of $650 billion in new Special Drawing Rights and promoted the possibility of redistributing them to countries that need them most,” Draghi said.
«We must continue to invest in research, remove trade barriers surrounding COVID-19 vaccines, and improve predictability in their delivery. And we need to strengthen global supply chains, while increasing manufacturing capacity locally and regionally."
«In high-income countries – he then recalled – over 70% of the population received at least one dose. In the poorest countries, this percentage drops to around 3%. These differences are morally unacceptable, and undermine the global recovery."
G20, DRAGONS: FAIR TAX SYSTEM AND RECOVERY
“We have reached a historic agreement for a fairer international taxation system and effective. We have overseen the allocation of 650 billion dollars as new Special Drawing Rights and we have promoted the possibility of redistributing them to the countries that need them most", continued the premier, underlining that these successes are proof of the results that can be achieved together .
“About two years into the pandemic, we can finally look to the future with more optimism. Successful vaccination campaigns and coordinated actions by governments and central banks have allowed the global economy to recover. Many of our countries have launched recovery plans to boost growth, reduce inequality and promote sustainability. Together, we are building a new economic model, and the whole world will benefit."
According to some sources inside the summit, reported by Radiocor, during Session 1 of the G20 dedicated to "Global Economy and Health", broad and transversal support was expressed for the agreement reached in the work of the summit on global minimum tax. The agreement reached within the OECD will have to be ratified during the summit. In the meantime, the United States but also Brazil, France and Korea have expressed explicit support for the global minimum tax.
The Russian president connected to the summit by videoconference Vladimir Putin who stigmatized "the protectionist approach that some countries adopt on vaccines" and asked for faster authorization times from the World Health Organization (WHO).
