Leaders of the two countries agreed on the need for a coordinated international response to the disease outbreak.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia spoke out in favor of reducing the negative impact that the coronavirus pandemic is having on the world economy. This was reported in a statement distributed by the Prime Minister’s Office on Downing Street after a Sunday telephone conversation between the two politicians.
“Both leaders agreed on the need for a coordinated international response to the outbreak, especially in vaccine development and in limiting the [scale] of economic shocks caused by the pandemic. They agreed to work closely on this topic, including through Saudi Arabia’s presidency of the G20 [G20] this year”, – the communiqué notes.
It also says Johnson has “informed the Crown Prince of the steps that Britain is taking, based on scientific advice, to combat the spread of the virus”.
The outbreak of the new coronavirus in Central China in late 2019 spread to more than 120 countries and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 11 March. According to WHO, more than 153,000 people worldwide were infected and more than 5,700 died. In Russia, 63 cases of infection have been registered. Fears that the pandemic may lead to a serious slowdown in the global economy have caused quotations on world stock exchanges to collapse.