UN passes Saudi resolution to tackle Covid-19

The kingdom's ambassador to the UN called for international co-operation to fight the pandemic

Saudi Arabia's finance minister Mohammed Al Jadaan chaired an online meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Riyadh. Reuters.

A Saudi draft resolution calling for a co-ordinated global response to Covid-19 was adopted at the UN General Assembly in New York on Saturday, the Saudi Press Agency said.

Presenting the draft, Abdallah Al Mouallimi, the kingdom’s ambassador to the UN in New York, said that the pandemic, “has ravaged our world and resulted in around 1 million deaths in 9 months, and infected 28 million people around the world”.

At the beginning of the outbreak, Saudi Arabia and Egypt tabled a draft resolution under Article 123 of the UN General Assembly calling for international collaboration in response to the threat posed by the virus, he said.

The draft calls for an international response plan including Lebanon, Oman, Morocco, Singapore, Bahrain, Canada, Jordan, Iraq and the UAE, Arab News reported.

Emphasising the need to support workers on the frontline of the fight against Covid-19, he described the large-scale disruption to all aspects of human life and the danger posed by the pandemic to global economies.

“This makes us more aware of the importance of co-operation and support to overcome our differences, and to work jointly to boost a transparent and co-ordinated response plan to enable us to fight threats to the international health system, and lay strong bases for sustainable development,” he said.

Pointing to the resolutions of the virtual summit held in March, Mr Al Mouallimi praised the widespread support for the draft resolution after it secured majority backing at the General Assembly on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia currently holds the G20 presidency, with the group's next summit scheduled for November 21-22.