Erdoğan Warns Against Protectionism at Virtual G20 Summit on Covid-19

Source and photo: AA

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Countries worldwide should take swift action to stem the deadly coronavirus pandemic, according to President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

"I invite all countries to participate in the fair fight against this global health crisis until all humanity breathes a sigh of relief," he told the G20 summit on the virus, which was held via videoconference.

Erdoğan said the countries must "act immediately" as they did during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, according to presidential sources.

"G20 must take responsibility"

"No country has the luxury of implementing protectionist, unilateral policies," said Erdoğan, according to the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.

He said the G20 bloc countries must guide, take responsibility, and show global cooperation in the fight against the pandemic.

"All measures to tackle coronavirus should be compatible with WTO [World Trade Organization] rules, and encourage global cooperation," Erdoğan said, adding that the coronavirus outbreak once again demonstrated the importance of cooperation and reconciliation in the G20 bloc.

Sharing experiences

He also urged countries to share their experiences with controlling the COVID-19 pandemic and diagnosing and treating the disease. "We see that even many developed countries have serious difficulty combating the coronavirus pandemic," he said.

Erdoğan joined the summit – which lasted over two hours – from Huber Pavilion in İstanbul, Turkey's largest city.

Accompanying Erdoğan were Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun, presidential spokesman İbrahim Kalın, and Turkey's G20 Sherpa Hayrettin Demircan.

In addition to Turkey, the G20 leaders taking part included Germany, the U.S., Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Indonesia, France, South Africa, South Korea, India, the UK, Italy, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the EU.