Top business leaders said that the global economy faces the worst crisis in a hundred years. Unless urgent reforms are enacted amid the G-20 summit hosted by Saudi Arabia in November, downside risks remain elevated.
Yousef Al-Benyan is chairman of the B20 (Business Twenty). Business twenty is a group made up of high-level CEOs from around the world. Al-Benyan added that the challenging opportunity is to build back better. Thus, business leaders and policymakers must be urgent.
The B20 is an engagement group. It seeks to represent the global business community’s voice across all economic sectors and member states in the group of twenty.
The group wants from G-20 leaders to undertake a broad and bold based policy action to put the post-pandemic economic recovery on a healthier, more stable growth path. It said that building financial vulnerability, geopolitical strains, policy uncertainty, and trade tensions were critical risks to the outlook. It is because economies and societies navigate the crippling impact of the coronavirus.
Al-Benyan said that the economic recovery would evolve over the next couple of years. Nevertheless, downside risks remain elevated. Thus, he raised concerns about rising inequalities and productivity growth.
Al-Benyan said that business has its share of responsibilities to honor. Moreover, it has a substantial role in building back an environmentally sustainable and socially inclusive economy.
In North Africa and the Middle East region, Saudi Arabia will be the first country to host a G-20 summit. The event brings together the leaders of the world’s largest economies to address socioeconomic and financial issues.
The B20 leadership made twenty-five policy recommendations for the G-20 group on Monday. Each piece of advice fell into three key areas: shaping new frontiers, empowering people, and safeguarding the planet.
Business Leaders
The B20 made ten recommendations under the area of empowering people. Those recommendations aim to accelerate efforts to empower youth and women and to build workforces resilient to economic, technological, and health risks. Also, it seeks to scale up financing for economic diversification and sustainable development. It includes job-creating sectors such as sustainable tourism.
Moreover, the group urged substantial progress on trade cooperation.
The B20 called on the G-20 to strengthen the investment system and multilateral trade by rolling back protectionism. It will support open markets. Moreover, it will enhance and enforce the rulebook to ensure a global level playing field with the WTO (World Trade Organization).
The group said that the business community supports a robust multilateral trading system anchored in the World Trade Organization. Nevertheless, the system faces a crisis that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
As technology and technology tensions continue to drive a wedge between China and the United States, the recommendation comes. Furthermore, there are concerns over the Trump administration’s efforts to use sanctions as a tool of foreign policy leverage. It is to address issues of reciprocity in its vital trading relationships.
To foster growth within the limits of the planet, the B20 made three recommendations.
Let us wait and see what will happen at the summit.
