President Moon speaks with Saudi Crown Prince, G20 Chair, proposes 'discussion on ensuring business activities'

President Moon Jae-in is speaking on the phone with Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, at the Blue House residence on the afternoon of the 24th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] President Moon Jae-in, ahead of the upcoming G20 Special Video Summit scheduled for the 26th, held a phone call on the 24th with the Saudi Arabian leader, the chair country, emphasizing the need to "guarantee the activities of businesspeople" amid the global spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis.

Kang Min-seok, the Blue House spokesperson, conveyed through a written briefing around 9 p.m. that "President Moon spoke for 20 minutes from 8 p.m. with Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud," reporting this.

According to Spokesperson Kang, President Moon said, "The whole world is facing difficulties due to the COVID-19 crisis, and I thought cooperation at the G20 level was urgently needed. Thanks to Saudi Arabia's swift response, the G20 Special Video Summit will be held the day after tomorrow," adding, "I highly appreciate the Crown Prince's leadership as the chair." He continued, "The COVID-19 crisis is spreading beyond a simple health issue to economic, financial, and social sectors, making international cooperation more crucial than ever," and evaluated, "In that regard, holding the special video summit on the 26th is very timely."

In particular, President Moon emphasized, "While restricting human exchanges is inevitable to suppress the spread of COVID-19, it is necessary to find ways to minimize the negative impact on the global economy," and added, "I hope that international cooperation measures, such as 'guaranteeing the activities of businesspeople' within the scope that does not hinder each country's quarantine efforts, will be discussed in depth at the special video summit."

In response, Crown Prince Mohammed said, "We are ready to cooperate with Korea on any issue," and expressed, "I hope that wise measures to overcome COVID-19 and the economic crisis will be derived at this special video summit."

Spokesperson Kang reported that Crown Prince Mohammed cited the agenda for this G20 special video summit as ▲ health control of the COVID-19 virus ▲ minimizing economic impact ▲ minimizing political impact ▲ global trade exchange measures. The Crown Prince added, "The G20 has a precedent in overcoming the 2008 global financial crisis," and said, "The role of G20 countries is significant in overcoming the health crisis and leading global growth recovery. We also hope to have bilateral cooperation with Korea."

Spokesperson Kang conveyed that at the end of the call, President Moon requested, "Please pay attention and support so that exchanges can be allowed for businesspeople who meet certain quarantine conditions, such as possessing a health status certificate," to which Crown Prince Mohammed responded, "Since we have comprehensive and high-level exchanges with Korea, we will separately do what helps Korea, and we will request what Saudi Arabia needs."