G20 Rome Summit kicks off, highlighting pandemic, climate change and recovery

ROME - The 16th Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders' Summit kicked off here on Saturday.

The two-day summit, held both online and offline under the Italian Presidency, will focus on the most pressing global challenges, with issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and economic recovery topping the agenda.

The first day of the summit features the first session titled "Global Economy and Global Health," while the second and third sessions on Sunday will focus on "Climate Change and Environment" and "Sustainable Development" respectively.

Even before the pandemic, "we faced protectionism, unilateralism and nationalism," Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi said in his opening remarks, stressing that "the more we go with all our challenges, the more it is clear multinationalism is the best answer to the problems we face today."

Created in 1999, the G20 comprising 19 countries plus the European Union, is a main forum for international cooperation on financial and economic issues.

The group accounts for almost two-thirds of the world's population, over 80 percent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 75 percent of global trade.