President Sommaruga to represent Switzerland at G20 summit this weekend
Bern, 18.11.2020 - President Simonetta Sommaruga will represent Switzerland this weekend at a summit of the G20 nations, which is being held via video conference due to the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic will be one of the issues discussed by the heads of state and government at the leaders’ summit, as will the outlook for sustainable recovery and development.
In recent months Switzerland participated for the first time as a guest country in all activities of the group of the largest industrialised and newly industrialised nations, the G20, at the invitation of the G20 presidency Saudi Arabia. As an active guest country, Switzerland has constructively voiced its position and contributed its experience, as well as made concrete project proposals.
Up to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Swiss delegations attended the workshops and ministerial meetings in person, where they were able to form and maintain useful contacts. In mid-March, an extraordinary crisis management agenda was introduced in addition to the ordinary G20 agenda. Since then, all meetings have been held virtually.
At the G20 leaders’ summit on Saturday, 21 November, Ms Sommaruga will present Switzerland’s position on the immediate response to the COVID-19 crisis and its impact. The following day, discussions will focus on building an inclusive, sustainable and stable future long term. This includes addressing climate change and the future of multilateral cooperation. Ms Sommaruga also attended a G20 special summit on the pandemic back in March.
G20 finance ministers meeting
A meeting of the G20 finance ministers will be held on the eve of the leaders’ summit. The participants, among them Federal Councillor Ueli Maurer, will discuss economic measures in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. At an extraordinary meeting on Friday, 13 November, the finance ministers and central bank governors agreed a joint framework for dealing with national debt. Mr Maurer welcomed this important step and called on all countries to adopt a sustainable and transparent approach to debt management.Address for enquiries
Communication DETEC, +41 58 462 55 11
Publisher
General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications; General Secretariat DETEC
https://www.uvek.admin.ch/uvek/en/home.html
Federal Department of Finance
https://www.efd.admin.ch/efd/en/home.html
