G7 Leaders "Will Do Anything to Prevent Economic Crisis"

Proposal for Central Bank Coordination, Finance and Health Ministers' Consultations
International Organizations Also Emphasize Need for Response

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) have defined the global pandemic of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) as a tragedy for humanity and agreed to closely cooperate on all necessary measures.

The G7 leaders from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan stated in a communiqu? released after a remote video conference on the 16th (local time), "We will prioritize strengthening the response to COVID-19," and added, "We will coordinate efforts, including appropriate border control measures, to delay the spread."

They also agreed to cooperate on supporting the World Health Organization (WHO), real-time information sharing for access to the latest data, data collection, increasing research efforts and launching joint research projects, sharing facilities, and developing and distributing treatments and vaccines. Health and welfare ministers of each country will coordinate on a weekly basis.

Regarding the economic impact, the leaders said, "We have decided to coordinate measures to achieve strong growth and prevent downside risks and to do whatever is necessary," adding, "We are mobilizing all available tools, including monetary and financial measures." They further stated, "We request that each country's central bank continue to coordinate to provide necessary financial measures to support economic and financial stability." Finance ministers of each country will coordinate weekly and are requested to develop appropriate and effective measures going forward.

Along with emphasizing the importance of coordination among international organizations, they called on the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), and other international organizations to support countries worldwide.

The G7 leaders pledged to continue cooperating in response to the emergency situation and urged the Group of Twenty (G20) to support and expand these efforts.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.