Tag: g20

Brazil’s coordinator of the finance track at G20, Tatiana Rosito, said on Tuesday that the group is moving towards a short communique that reflects Brazilian priorities. …reports Asian Lite News

Group of 20 finance leaders are expected to make a passing reference to regional conflicts in assessing global economic risks, according to a draft version of the communique seen by Reuters, due to deep divisions over wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

The draft communique, far shorter than previous years as host nation Brazil works to sidestep geopolitical controversies, also said the likelihood of a soft landing in the global economy has increased, but uncertainty remains high. 

“Risks to the global economic outlook are more balanced,” with faster-than-expected disinflation and more growth-friendly fiscal consolidation underpinning growth, the draft said. 

After a gathering of foreign ministers in Rio de Janeiro last week focused on deep divisions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, G20 finance officials are expected to set aside geopolitics and focus on global economic issues as they gather in Sao Paulo this week. 

The draft communique that deputy finance ministers have been revising reflects a delicate effort to acknowledge regional conflicts while maintaining consensus, which Brazil has emphasized during its presidency of the G20 major economies. 

“Among the downside risks to the global economy are [wars and] escalating conflicts, geoeconomic fragmentation, rising protectionism and trade routes disruptions,” the draft communique said. 

The reference to “wars” in brackets reflects efforts to reach a consensus on the final language, said a person familiar with the matter. 

Brazil’s coordinator of the finance track at G20, Tatiana Rosito, said on Tuesday that the group is moving towards a short communique that reflects Brazilian priorities. 

Rosito, the International Affairs secretary at the Finance Ministry, also told a briefing there was no concrete proposal on the table for debt negotiation, adding that the idea is to create “a new momentum” to advance the issue, including the discussion of preventive mechanisms. 

Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is also pushing to give developing nations of the Global South more voice in G20 meetings during Brazil’s presidency, reflected in the draft communique’s focus on addressing hunger, poverty and inequality. 

Finance officials and central bankers from the G20 are meeting to review global economic developments at a time of slowing growth, the increasing strains of record debt burdens, and worries that inflation may not yet be tamed. 

In the draft communique, the G20 finance leaders gave an optimistic view on the outlook for price pressures. Inflation has receded in most economies, they said, thanks in part to “appropriate” monetary policies, easing supply chain bottlenecks and moderating commodity prices. 

The priority for central banks is still to ensure that inflation converges to target “in line with their respective mandates,” the draft communique said.

The draft also said the G20 group reaffirms their existing exchange-rate commitment, which warns against excess volatility and volatile currency moves as undesirable for economic growth.

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While addressing the Foreign Ministers Session of the Second Voice of the Global South, Jaishankar underlined that India took over its G20 presidency at a time when world was facing a lot of challenges…reports Asian Lite News

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar emphasized that India’s initiatives during its G20 presidency, centered around the theme “One Earth, One Family, One Future,” will persist beyond its presidency. He affirmed India’s commitment to actively pursue the vision of inclusive global growth.

“The endeavours undertaken during India’s G20 Presidency, under our theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, will not end on November 30th 2023. With your support it will continue to be heard as we work to realize our vision for a world where truly no one is left behind anywhere in the world,” he said.

While addressing the Foreign Ministers Session of the Second Voice of the Global South, Jaishankar underlined that India took over its G20 presidency at a time when world was facing a lot of challenges.

He said, “India took over its G20 Presidency in the backdrop of a deep divide in the international polity, devastation caused by the Covid pandemic, increasing stresses on global food, fertilizer and energy security and an intractable debt crisis. This context made us conscious of the great responsibility of assuming the G20 Presidency.”

He added, “In fulfilling that task, India’s anchor was the Global South. Its voices inspired our priorities, fueled our efforts and galvanized a path-breaking consensus in a very diverse grouping.”

Jaishankar said that India’s G20 Presidency advocated for finding solutions from within the Global South. He said that India walked the talk by hosting the first Voice of the Global South Summit in January 2023 and added that the nations were able to hold discussions on the key concerns and priorities of the Global South.

He said, “As we took over the G20 presidency last year, Prime Minister Modi declared that and I quote “Our G20 priorities will be shaped in consultation with not just our G20 partners, but also our fellow travellers from the Global South, whose voice often goes unheard.” India has since walked the talk by hosting the first voice of the Global South Summit in January this year. By doing so, we were able to elicit and deliberate on the key concerns and priorities of the Global South. This, in turn, informed our approach to the G20 discussions throughout the year.”

The EAM noted that long-standing structural inequities have been seriously aggravated by the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Jaishankar stressed that it has turned worse due to the fuel, food and fertilizer crisis emanating from the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and its response. He stated that India is hosting the Second Voice of Global South to report on key outcomes from the New Delhi G20 Summit.

“All of us are acutely aware of the growing stress on the international economy and global society. Long-standing structural inequities have been seriously aggravated by the devastation of the COVID pandemic. This has been made worse by the fuel, food and fertilizer crisis emanating from the Ukraine conflict and its responses,” Jaishankar said.

“Resource challenges, financial constraints, disrupted trade and climate events have added to our burdens. As a result, growth prospects are as daunting as the SDG landscape is grim. It was our foremost responsibility to refocus the G20 on the pressing needs of the global South. Thanks to the ideas and inputs received from all of you, India’s G20 presidency did advocate for finding solutions from within the Global South,” he added.

Jaishankar highlighted that the New Delhi Leaders Declaration of the G20 Summit will be remembered for bringing back the G20’s focus on the “real and serious concerns of the Global South.” He said that the declaration is a comprehensive message on promoting strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.

“It seeks to accelerate progress on SDGs and has come up with an action plan accordingly. It envisages a green development pact for a sustainable future. It endorses high-level principles on lifestyle for sustainable development, voluntary principles on hydrogen, the Chennai Principles for a Sustainable and Resilient Blue Economy, and the Deccan principles on food security and nutrition, amongst others,” Jaishankar said.

He stated that G20 has affirmed the fundamental importance of gender equality and committed to half the digital gender gap by 2030. Jaishankar called the inclusion of the African Union in the G20 as the most satisfying outcome of India’s G20 presidency.

He said that the Voice of the Global South can be greatly impactful by amplifying individual voices and projecting shared interests for the emerging world. He emphasised that institutions like the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for the Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, and the One Future Alliance serve to offer solutions from the Global South for the world’s most pressing challenges.

“While change is the natural order, that continues to be a resistance for a greater role for the Global South in shaping solutions for the key issues of our times. But together, we need to continue putting greater emphasis on the need to take everyone along and everyone’s views along while we deliberate at multilateral and plurilateral forums. The Voice of the Global South Summit can be greatly impactful by amplifying our individual voices and project our shared interests for the emerging world order,” Jaishankar said.

He said that Global South needs to work towards self-reliance to mitigate its vulnerabilities vis-a-vis economic concentrations. He noted that COVID era is a stark reminder fo the “perils of dependence for basic necessities on far away geographies.”

He added, “We need to not only democratize and diversify production but build resilient and reliable supply chains and promote local solutions. Only then can the Global South secure its future.

“Jaishankar reaffirmed India’s commitment to the Global South through an extensive range of development projects in 78 nations and stressed that these projects are “demand-driven, outcome-oriented, transparent and sustainable.” (ANI)

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