By Xu Aiying and Lee Hana

The leaders of the Group of 20 (G-20) major economies have pledged joint efforts to overcome the global COVID-19 pandemic.

President Moon Jae-in and the G-20 leaders on March 26 took part in the G-20 2020 Extraordinary Virtual Leaders' Summit on measures to ride out the crisis, signing a joint statement vowing a united front against COVID-19.

The statement outlined major measures such as protecting lives, jobs and income, restoring trust, maintaining financial stability, restoring the growth rate, minimizing economic and social damage, providing support to countries in need and cooperating in public health.

President Moon in the talks described Korea's preemptive and transparent quarantine efforts under the principles of openness, transparency and democracy. He also suggested ways to strengthen global solidarity and cooperation.

"The G20 member countries must share all of our clinical data and quarantine experiences from combatting the crisis, as well as work together towards developing therapeutics and a vaccine. Furthermore, we must cooperate in providing support to nations with lesser developed healthcare systems,” he said.

“We must use all available means to adopt expansionary macroeconomic policies, strengthen the global financial safety net, and work together for the economic stability of the least-developed and impoverished nations."

"In order to minimize COVID-19’s negative repercussion on the global economy, it is vital that countries maintain the flow of essential economic exchanges."

xuaiy@korea.kr