Saudi King Calls For Preservation of Biodiversity and Need to Combat 'Land Degradation'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who chairs the G20 summit, on Saturday called for the prevention of land degradation and preservation of coral reefs and biodiversity.

"We must lead the international community in preserving and conserving our environment. In this context, we advocate the need to combat land degradation and conserve coral reefs and biodiversity to send a strong signal about our commitment to safeguard our planet," Salman said.

The leaders of the world’s 20 major economies are gathering online for a two-day summit that started on Saturday.

The meeting between the leaders of the world's 20 largest economies was originally planned to take place in Riyadh, as Saudi Arabia holds presidency over the summit this year. However, the conference was replaced with a virtual format due to COVID-19 pandemic.