Australia and South Korea today called for a meeting of leaders and finance ministers from major industrial and developing countries, while the coronavirus pandemic is causing panic in global markets.

The move demonstrates the urgency with which government leaders must tackle the spread of a virus that threatens to steer the global economy toward its first recession since the financial crisis.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he supported his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi’s proposal to hold a discussion among G-20 leaders. He also spoke with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the two agreed that financial leaders should also meet.

“The PM [Boris Johnson] and I agreed last night that even the more urgent meeting that would be needed would be that of the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors”, said Scott Morrison to reporters in Sydney.

Concerning market volatility, Scott Morrison said the G20 should coordinate actions similar to those introduced during the global financial crisis.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has proposed to US President Donald Trump to hold a G20 teleconference meeting to discuss how South Korea is fighting the spread of the coronavirus, according to a message from the Moon Jae-in administration. At the meeting in question, South Korea plans to share information about “its own attempt to cope” with the spread of Covid-19 within its borders, the results of clinical trials, and discuss measures to respond to the world economy, the text added.

Today, Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura warned of the economic impact of the coronavirus, saying it would be worse than the financial crisis and called for a strong political response.