G-20 Ministers in Italy to Discuss Coronavirus, Climate Change, Africa Development
Voice of America
The coronavirus pandemic, climate change and food security are on the agenda Tuesday as foreign ministers from the G-20 group of nations meet in Italy.
The talks in the city of Matera represent the first time the ministers are gathering in person since 2019. "To bring the pandemic to an end, we must get more vaccine to more places," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in his opening remarks. "Multilateral cooperation will be key to stop this global health crisis." Blinken also highlighted U.S. contributions to the COVAX dose-sharing facility to get supply of COVID-19 vaccines to low- and middle-income countries and praised Italy for making the pandemic a focus of Tuesday’s meetings.FILE - Afghanistan's Karim Sadiq dives to catch the ball while fielding during the Asia Cup one-day international cricket tournament against Pakistan in Fatullah, near Dhaka, Bangladesh, Feb. 27, 2014. FILE - Afghan national cricket team coach, Taj Maluk, speaks to his team in Kabul, May 27, 2006. FILE - Gujarat Titans' Rashid Khan plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans in New Delhi, India, April 24, 2024. FILE - A sign advertises the Cricket World Cup matches in East Meadow, New York, May 8, 2024.
FILE - Achraf, 16, cries as he swims using bottles as floaters, near the fence between the Spanish-Moroccan border, after thousands of migrants swam across the border, in Ceuta, Spain, May 19, 2021. Migrants from Eritrea, Libya and Sudan sail a wooden boat before being assisted by aid workers of the Spanish NGO Open Arms, in the Mediterranean sea, about 30 miles north of Libya, June 17, 2023. FILE - Migrants navigate on an overcrowded wooden boat in the Central Mediterranean Sea between North Africa and the Italian island of Lampedusa, Oct. 2, 2021, as seen from aboard the humanitarian aircraft Seabird.
China's Defense Minister Dong Jun speaks during the Shangri-La Dialogue summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, June 2, 2024. FILE - A Chinese coast guard ship, left, with a Chinese militia vessel, right, blocks Philippine coast guard ship, BRP Sindangan as it tried to head towards Second Thomas Shoal at the disputed South China Sea during rotation and resupply mission on Oct. 4, 2023.
Police officers stop and search people near Victoria Park, Hong Kong's traditional venue for the annual 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown vigil, in Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. People gather near a soccer field which in previous years had been used annually for vigils to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, at Victoria Park, Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. This year, the venue was blocked off for a carnival by pro-government groups. (Cindy Sui/VOA) A carnival worker tells members of the public they cannot enter the restricted area until later in the day, at Victoria Park, Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. (Cindy Sui/VOA) A carnival worker guards the perimeter of a closed-off soccer field which traditionally had been used for Tiananmen Square crackdown commemorations, at Victoria Park, Hong Kong, June 4, 2024. (Cindy Sui/VOA)