The SaudiG20 Sherpa, Dr. Fahad Almubarak, briefed the United Nations General Assembly onthe G20 Presidency Agenda in 2020.
In aninformal session, attended by representatives from the member states of theUnited Nations (UN), the Saudi Sherpa introduced the theme, aims, and mainpriorities of the Saudi G20 Presidency in 2020.
The sessionstarted with remarks by the President of the UN General Assembly, and theUnder-Secretary-General of the UN; in which they welcomed the Saudi Sherpa andlooked forward to a successful G20 Summit in Riyadh.
Beforegiving a broad overview of the agenda, the Sherpa emphasized the links amongthe Saudi G20 program, the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, andthe Kingdom's Vision 2030.
Hehighlighted that, under the guidance of the Custodian of the Two Holy MosquesKing Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed binSalman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister ofDefense, the 2020 G20 Agenda development process was conducted in an inclusiveand comprehensive way in order to reflect the issues that are most importantfor the whole world.
The SaudiSherpa also emphasized the complementary nature of the G20 and the UN as keyinternational mechanisms for promoting international cooperation, saying thatthe G20 provides momentum and policy guidance where needed.
In hisspeech, the Sherpa talked about the G20 main objectives for 2020. He explainedthat, under the theme of "Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All,"the Saudi G20 Presidency will focus on three aims:
– EmpoweringPeople, by creating the conditions in which all people —especially women andyoung people — can live, work and thrive.
–Safeguarding the Planet, by fostering collective efforts to protect ourcommons, especially on the topics of food and water security, climate, energy,and environment.
– ShapingNew Frontiers, by adopting long-term bold strategies to utilize and share thebenefits of innovation and technological advancement.
During thebriefing session, he also presented the priorities that will be at the centerof the G20 discussions under the Saudi G20 Presidency and gave details aboutthe global challenges that the G20 countries can address jointly to achieveeconomic growth and sustainable development.
"Since manyof the challenges before us are global in nature, no country can effectivelyaddress them alone" he stated, adding that "we have a shared interest and ashared responsibility to work together to realize opportunities of the 21stcentury for all."
The Sherpawill continue his global outreach to engage the international community in theG20 efforts throughout the year and will join other high-level meetingsrepresenting the Saudi G20 Presidency.
