COVID-19: Dharmendra Pradhan to join G-20 Energy Ministers summit on April 10 via video conferencing

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan will join the summit of G-20 Energy Ministers on April 10 through video conferencing, amid coronavirus pandemic which has infected over a million people and killed thousands globally.

Last month, during a meeting between trade ministers from the Group of 20 (G-20) major economies had agreed to take immediate measures for facilitating trade in essential goods besides incentivising additional production of equipment and drugs to battle the coronavirus pandemic.

In a virtual summit convened on March 26, G-20 leaders had also pledged to put in more than five trillion dollars into the global economy to curb job and income losses caused by border closures and lockdowns aimed at halting the spread of COVID-19.

The pandemic is a global challenge and requires a coordinated global response, the ministers had said in the statement.

"We will support the availability and accessibility of essential medical supplies and pharmaceuticals at affordable prices, on an equitable basis, where they are most needed, and as quickly as possible, including by encouraging additional production through incentives and targeted investment, according to national circumstances," said the statement.