MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2021) The leaders of the world's 20 major economies will gather for a two-day in-person summit on Saturday in Rome in a bid to work out steps to end the COVID-19 pandemic, shore up the struggling global economy and discuss climate change.
Unlike last year's edition, this year's summit is expected to be held in a face-to-face format. However, some leaders chose to participate virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to attend the G20 summit via a video link and will address the participants twice. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will take part in the summit in person and is expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines, including one with the Chinese top diplomat, Wang Yi.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will also take part in the summit in Rome via a videoconference.
GLOBAL ECONOMY, CLIMATE TAKE CENTER STAGE
The global economy and its recovery will once again take center stage at the summit, Italian ambassador to Russia Giorgio Starace told Sputnik that its international format would allow focusing on the world economy and global challenges facing the world.
This two-day event, the culmination of a series of talks held during Italy's presidency of the G20, which was focusing among other things on paving the way to rebuilding the world economy differently: through better use of renewable energies and with a firm commitment to protecting the environment and fighting climate change.
The Rome summit is seen as critically important for the global climate action plan as it comes just before the United Nations COP26 climate change conference which begins in Glasgow on 31 October.
As per tradition, with the current G20 rotating presidency with Italy, Prime Minister Mario Draghi is expected to personally welcome the majority of the group's leaders, including US President Joe Biden, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, outgoing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and others.
A series of bilateral meetings are scheduled to take place on the margins of the G20.
President Biden is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with Angela Merkel. The bilateral meeting will likely be followed by talks on Iran and the JCPOA with France and the UK, according to the White House.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday that he will address the issue of rules-based digitalization and accountability for social media platforms. The EU will be focused on efforts to end the COVID-19 pandemic, global economic recovery and climate change, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said earlier this week.
The Italian government stressed that the summit would take place under maximum security, with a "red health zone" around the Nuvola venue and the media center at the nearby Palazzo dei Congressi.
Several rights groups have pledged to organize demonstrations in Rome during the G20 summit.
