By Kavaljit Singh | Policy Brief # 5 | March 27, 2020
The first-ever extraordinary virtual G20 leaders’ summit took place on March 26, 2020. The Summit was convened by Saudi Arabia, the current G20 chair, to develop collective global solutions in the fight against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Singularly focused on the need to develop a global response to the pandemic, the Summit did not discuss the Saudi G20 Presidency agenda titled “Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All” or previous commitments made by the G20.
In the face of mounting COVID-19 cases in the country, the central and most state governments have acted with alacrity and a sense of purpose to ensure that the rapid spread of the deadly virus can be controlled. The central government has taken a string of proactive measures ranging from the screening of potential carriers of the virus to spreading the message of social distancing so that the dreaded next step of the spread of the virus through community…
By Kavaljit Singh | Briefing Paper # 34 | March 25, 2020
On March 26, 2020, an extraordinary virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit will take place to discuss global plans to tackle the public health and economic challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). The Leaders’ Summit will follow a virtual meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors that was held on March 23 and a virtual G20 Sherpa meeting to be held on March 25.
As anticipated, the G20 finance ministers did not issue a joint declaration after the call….
By Myriam Vander Stichele | Guest Blog | March 20, 2020
Now that the financial markets are in turmoil, authorities are providing ever more robust measures and extra capital. But the panic in the financial markets is very much of its own making. The financial industry succeeded for years in fiercely opposing intervention and regulation that would have prevented the current financial distress. Authorities now have to face the resulting weak regulatory framework and restrict the viral excesses of the financial industry’s behavior. Rather than fleeing and waiting on the…
By Kavaljit Singh | Briefing Paper # 33 | March 19, 2020
The novel coronavirus (Covid-19) is rapidly spreading around the world. The first case of coronavirus was reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019, but now it has spread to every continent except Antarctica. As of 18 March, 211,200 people have been infected, and at least 8,822 have died across six continents.
At the time of writing, there are no signs of coronavirus abating outside China. The virus, recognized as a pandemic by the World Health…
