Saudi Arabia to hold virtual G20 summit on Nov 21-22

Saudi Arabia to hold virtual G20 summit on Nov 21-22

The G20 leaders summit will be held virtually on Nov. 21-22, Saudi Arabia said on Monday, as the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted Riyadh's hopes of hosting the gathering in the kingdom to boost its international standing.

Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter took over the G20 presidency at a time of heavy global criticism of its human rights record after the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and of the Yemen war.

Riyadh has sought to turn attention to reforms launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to open up the kingdom and diversify its economy.

King Salman, who had surgery in July, will chair the November summit, a G20 Saudi secretariat statement said.

Saudi leaders had hailed the kingdom's G20 presidency as proof of its leading role