Draghi urges upholding multilateralism, overcoming differences

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on Saturday called on world leaders to uphold multilateralism and do all they can to overcome differences.

In his opening remarks to the G20 Summit, Draghi, whose country holds the G20 presidency this year, reminded people that the world was facing protectionism, unilateralism and nationalism even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world.

While Draghi did not name names, former US president Donald Trump pushed protectionist and unilateral policies, many of which have not been reversed by US President Joe Biden.

"But the more we go with all our challenges, the more it is clear that multilateralism is the best answer to the problems we face today. In many ways, it's the only possible answer," Draghi said in the Rome Convention Center, also known as La Nuvola, or The Cloud.

Draghi said that going alone is simply not an option to tackle challenges from pandemic to climate change.

"We must do all we can to overcome our differences. We must rekindle the spirit that led to the creation of this group," said the former European Central Bank governor.

He warned of the "startling disparity in the global distribution of vaccines".

He cited the fact that in high income countries, 70 percent of the population has received at least one dose while in the poorest countries, the percentage is just 3 percent.

"The differences are morally unacceptable, and undermines the global recovery," he said.

His words were echoed by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres who urged world leaders at the G20 Summit to show leadership to save lives, prevent further suffering and enable a full global recovery.

"Vaccine inequality is prolonging the pandemic at great human and economic cost," he said.

According to a recent report by activist groups such as Oxfam, Amnesty International and UNAIDS, wealthy countries promised to donate 1.8 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines but have delivered just 261 million, or 14 percent of the pledge.

At the Saturday meeting, the leaders of the world 20 major economies endorsed a 15 percent global minimum corporate tax. Their commitment came after some 130 countries agreed in early October to a 15 percent minimum tax rate.

The minimum tax deal, which is expected to be formally adopted on Sunday, fell short of the US original call for a 21 percent minimum tax.

Biden, who is desperate to claim a win after his infrastructure bill was stalled in the US Congress and his approval rate plummeting, tweeted on Saturday that "this is more than just a tax deal – it's diplomacy reshaping our global economy and delivering for our people."

As leaders started their first of the two-day meeting, thousands of climate activists and anti-G20 campaigners marched through the streets of Rome, accusing leaders of the world's major economies of inaction on climate change.

The protests, participated by movement such as Friday for Future and Extinction Rebellion, came just a day before the 2021 UN climate conferences, also known as COP26, kicks off in Glasgow, Scotland, on Sunday.

"G20 leaders fly to Rome. Carbon emissions?... They fly to Glasgow. Carbon emissions? Disgusting hypocrisy," Allison Pearson, a columnist at the British newspaper, the Telegraph, said in a tweet.

Security has been tight in Rome as the host tries to avoid repeating the riots occurred in some previous G20 summits.

The Italian government has deployed more than 5,000 extra police forces in addition to the usual police force in Rome to ensure security during the two-day meeting. It has also designated a 10-square-kilometer maximum security zone surrounding the meeting venues.

On Saturday, armed soldiers and police forces were seen not just around meeting venues but outside many luxury hotels in the city center where G20 leaders stay. Some patrol helicopters were buzzing over the sky.