Indonesian Presidency was joined by culture minsters and senior officials of the G20 and other guest countries including the UAE to implement the G20 Culture Agenda…reports Asian Lite News
The UAE has always believed that global challenges can only be resolved through inclusive global solutions, guided by shared values of tolerance, peace, and co-existence, said Mubarak Al Nakhi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Culture and Youth.
Al Nakhi, represented the UAE at the Third G20 Culture Ministers’ Meeting which was hosted by the Republic of Indonesia from 11th to 13th September 2022 in Borobudur Temple Compounds, Indonesia.
The meeting was held under the theme ‘Culture for Sustainable Living’, and is a continuation of the previous meetings held by the Saudi Arabia Presidency (2020) and Italy Presidency (2021) and continues the commitment outlined in The Rome Declaration of the G20 Ministers of Culture to mainstream culture as an integral part of wider policy agendas.
Indonesian Presidency was joined by culture minsters and senior officials of the G20 and other guest countries including the UAE to implement the G20 Culture Agenda. In line with the Indonesian Presidency’s overall theme of the G20: “Recover Together, Recover Stronger,” the third G20 Culture Ministers’ Meeting focused on fostering common action to promote culture as a method to achieve a sustainable future.
The UAE reaffirmed its commitment to the Chair’s Message presented on 13th September, 2022, extending support to culture as a global public good that is more aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals and the twelve global commitments outlined in ‘Our Common Agenda’ issued by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The Chair’s Message highlighted that in today’s globalised economy, no single country lives in isolation hence global cultural economy forms an ecosystem in which each country plays an important role in the movement of the entire supply chain of cultural products.
Thanking the Indonesian Presidency for taking the initiative to develop a common vision to integrate culture within sustainable development activities, inclusive development and education, Al Nakhi said, “We are confident that this year’s gathering, under Indonesia’s leadership, will play a pivotal role in the world’s post-pandemic recovery.
“The UAE has always believed that global challenges can only be resolved through inclusive global solutions, guided by our shared values of tolerance, peace, and co-existence. It is a model that guides both our domestic and international efforts and has allowed us to promote hope and optimism both within and outside of our region.”
He added that culture-based policy will build an inclusive and sustainable foundation for growth in a post-pandemic era.
“We believe that preserving the diversity of cultural practices is critical to the well-being of humanity and recognise how culture and creativity are integral to wider policy agendas. The UAE is committed to working closely with G20 members and guest countries to tackle some of the most pressing global challenges facing the international community today,” he noted.
Speaking about the upcoming UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2022, he said, “We will take these discussions forward at the upcoming Mondiacult 2022 to be held in Mexico later this month. Mobilising global policy dialogue in the field of culture, the conference will help us consolidate progress and decide on next steps to shape a more robust and resilient cultural sector.”
Following the meeting, Al Nakhi joined the G20 Ministers of Culture in a tree-planting ceremony. He also met with Nadiem Anwar Makarim, Indonesia’s Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology and Ernesto Ottone R. is the Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO.
The third G20 Culture Ministers’ Meeting was held in cooperation with the official G20 engagement groups, UNESCO, and other international organisations. The meeting also consolidated efforts and collaboration with cultural activists, social entrepreneurs, and global philanthropy to further the impact and reach.
The G20 EWG, he added, also raised other development issues, including the development of capacity of human resources and social protection in the working environment…reports Asian Lite News
Representatives of G20 countries have agreed to introduce an assessment instrument to measure how far each country’s policies have accommodated the needs of people with disabilities.
The agreement was concluded at the Sixth G20 Employment Working Group (EWG) meeting in Bali, which mainly discussed inclusive job opportunities.
“We aim to ensure that workers with disabilities could have the same opportunities as other workers. Thus, we agree to formulate an instrument that can evaluate whether the policies in every country have been friendly with the disabled people and how far their realisations of affirmative actions for the people with disabilities,” Secretary General of Indonesia’s Manpower Ministry Anwar Sanusi said on Tuesday in a written statement released after the G20 EWG meeting.
The G20 EWG, he added, also raised other development issues, including the development of capacity of human resources and social protection in the working environment.
“Inclusive job creation is one of the issues raised by Indonesia’s G20 Presidency at the EWG meeting that will later be discussed further at the Labor and Employment Ministers Meeting held tomorrow (Wednesday),” Sanusi said.
The minister reiterated the UAE’s dedication to environmental protection and climate action through a whole-of-nation and all-inclusive approach to enhance ecological prosperity….reports Asian Lite News
Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, participated in the Joint Environment and Climate Ministers’ Meeting as part of the G20 Summit, hosted under the presidency of the Republic of Indonesia.
At the event, Almheiri highlighted the importance of demonstrating solidarity by forging meaningful regional and global partnerships to tackle environmental and climate challenges proactively and systematically rather than reactively, to reverse the severe trends of biodiversity loss, pollution, ecosystem deterioration, and land degradation.
She said, “Nature is our greatest ally in the fight against climate and environmental challenges, and our responsibility is to protect it and ensure we pass on an inhabitable world to future generations. The window for action to avert worst-case scenarios is narrowing. We need to move from pledges to concrete and ambitious actions. The only way to succeed is by joining forces and working together harmoniously.
“On this journey, we must adopt an all-inclusive participatory approach to effectively drive climate ambition by enabling youth and women to be integral to setting up national policies and action plans.”
She pointed out that the outcomes of the G-20 meeting will be further pushed at the G-20 Summit in October in Indonesia, and the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27), set to run in November in Egypt. These milestones will shape the processes of COP28 in 2023, which will feature the first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement.
The minister reiterated the UAE’s dedication to environmental protection and climate action through a whole-of-nation and all-inclusive approach to enhance ecological prosperity. She also stressed the UAE’s commitment to working with all countries through the G-20 framework to foster equitable, sustainable development worldwide.
At the meeting, participating countries endorsed the Joint G-20 Environment and Climate Ministers Communiqué that outlines core priorities to address pressing challenges, including driving more sustainable recovery, stepping up land- and sea-based actions to support environmental protection and climate objectives, and increasing resource mobilisation to achieve these goals.
The UAE is one of four guest countries, alongside Spain, Netherlands, and Singapore, invited by Indonesia to participate in the G-20 Summit in October 2022 in Bali.
The Indian Sherpa spoke about the need to protect and promote interests of small and marginal farmers, and to mainstream sustainability into tourism sector….reports Asian Lite News
India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant led the Indian delegation to the second G20 Sherpa meeting, convened by Indonesia, to review the progress made under various Working Groups of the G20 Sherpa Track.
In his interventions on various sector specific sessions, he reaffirmed India’s steadfast support to Indonesia during its G20 Presidency, outlined India’s achievements and experiences, and called for addressing global challenges in an inclusive, forward looking and cooperative manner.
He emphasised the importance of all G20 members collectively addressing health, food and energy security challenges expeditiously, in an urgent, cooperative, non-politicized and equitable manner.
Pic credits Twitter
The Indian Sherpa spoke about the need to protect and promote interests of small and marginal farmers, and to mainstream sustainability into tourism sector.
He highlighted the importance of data and digitalisation for development, empowerment, financial inclusion, capacity building, and sustainable job creation. On disaster risk, climate and environment issues, Kant called for development and climate discourse to be considered holistically, on an equal footing, to ensure just transitions.
He highlighted the rapid strides made by India in scaling up renewable energy and reiterated India’s COP 26 commitments. On migration issues, he emphasized the need to further deepen international engagement and facilitate safe, orderly and regular migration.
Kant also held bilateral interactions on the sidelines with all his G20 counterparts, guest countries and participating international organisations. In these meetings, he shared India’s thinking on global issues and its forthcoming G20 Presidency, and discussed ways to further support the Indonesian Presidency to achieve its outcomes.
Goyal led the FTA negotiations with Unite Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia regardless of the odd time zones…reports Asian Lite News
NITI Aayog’s former CEO Amitabh Kant is tipped to take charge as India’s new Sherpa of the G20.
He will replace Union Minister Piyush Goyal as the full-time Sherpa as India will hold the G-20 Presidency from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023.
A Sherpa will have to devote a lot of time for meetings to be held in different parts of the country.
On the other hand, Goyal has other important tasks on hand like serving as the Leader of the Rajya Sabha and also handling the work in his important Ministries like Commerce and Industry, Textiles, and Consumer Affairs, Food and Civil Supplies.
Being a Sherpa, Goyal’s foreign travel will be affected during Parliament sessions and he would want to focus attention on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks with the UK and the European Union (EU).
The UK and the EU are large markets and FTA would result in a boost to industries resulting in large number of jobs in sectors like textiles, leather, gems and others. The UK FTA is in advanced stages.
Goyal led the FTA negotiations with Unite Arab Emirates (UAE) and Australia regardless of the odd time zones.
A qualified chartered accountant, Goyal’s guidance is also required at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as some countries may try to push India towards a compromise on important areas.
The UK and EU FTAs will be game changers for India’s labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, gems & jewellery, helping artisans, weavers, farmers and creating lakhs of jobs in smaller towns. The minister’s expertise is needed here.
The minister’s guidance is also needed in the WTO. India achieved the best-ever outcome for the country in WTO’s ministerial meeting last month. It became a dealmaker, demolishing Western propaganda about India being a dealbreaker. India protected the interests of its small fishermen and farmers, but some countries would try to push India to compromise on these key areas in future negotiations at WTO. This would require the minister’s urgent attention from time to time.
While welcoming the summit in J&K next year, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that it would send a message of peace and normalcy to the whole world, writes Ahmed Ali Fayyaz
On Thursday, 23 June 2022, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir constituted a 5-member committee of bureaucrats under Principal Secretary Housing & Urban Development Dheeraj Gupta “for overall coordination of G-20 meetings to be held in the Union Territory of J&K”.
Earlier, in November 2020, G-20 leaders had announced in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that India would host the summit of the high-profile grouping in 2023 with the delay of one year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. As per the previous schedule of the Osaka Declaration, Saudi Arabia was to host the G-20 summit in 2020, followed by Italy in 2021 and India in 2022. Among others, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, then outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump and the President of China Xi Jinping had attended the G-20 summit at Riyadh.
“We have constituted the committee immediately after we were told by the Union Government to coordinate arrangements for the G-20 summit as it could be held in Jammu and Kashmir in 2023. As of now, this is all. There’s no further development”, Dheeraj Gupta told India Narrative.
While welcoming the summit in J&K next year, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that it would send a message of peace and normalcy to the whole world. He said development would not be far away if peace returns to Kashmir. “If there is no peace, then rest assured no power on earth can bring development to the place. There are some people who do not like this. They do not want peace here, they want violence. J-K’s welfare is in this, we can progress and come closer to or overcome other nations only when there is peace here”, Sinha asserted.
“If J&K returns to the phase of strikes and shutdowns and violence, then those days which were very painful, may have to be seen again”, Sinha warned.
“I appeal to people to remain cautious of these elements. They are not your friends, they want to create hurdles in the way of peace on the directions from the outside. There is a small number of such people and I want to tell you that our administration and security forces are committed to protect the common man. We will not touch the innocent, that is our policy, but it is our policy as well that the culprits will not be spared in any way”, Sinha said.
As and when the G-20 summit would be held in Jammu and Kashmir, it would be arguably India’s biggest diplomatic gain at the international level since the outbreak of a separatist movement and armed insurgency in 1989-90. This will be the first major international summit to be held in Jammu and Kashmir not only after the withdrawal of its special status, guaranteed under Article 370 of the Indian constitution, but also in the last 36 years. New Delhi suffered certain diplomatic reverses, mainly due to an unprecedented synchronisation between a bad Press and academia at the international level, after J&K’s reorganisation in August 2019. However, three different visits by the world diplomatic delegations in 2020 and 2021 neutralised the damage to a great extent.
G-20 is a formidable politico-economic alliance comprising 19 countries, including The United States of America, Canada, The United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, China, India, Japan and the European Union. Other member nations include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. Its summits are also attended by representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB).
G-20 membership comprises a mix of the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies, representing about two-thirds of the world’s population, 85 per cent of global gross domestic product, 80 per cent of global investment and over 75 per cent of global trade.
The work of G-20 members is, among others, also supported by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the United Nations (UN).
G-20 also regularly engages with non-government sectors, engagement groups from business (B20), civil society (C20), labour (L20), think tanks (T20) and youth (Y20) while holding major events during the year, the outcomes of which does contribute to the deliberations of G-20 leaders.
The group focuses on a broad agenda of issues of global importance. Although issues pertaining to the global economy dominate the agenda, additional items like financial markets, tax and fiscal policy, trade, agriculture, employment, energy, fight against corruption, advancement of women in the job market, climate change, global health have also gained importance in recent times. Counter-terrorism and choking of terror funds are reportedly India’s top agenda priorities in the G-20 summits.
G-20 also played a critical role in the ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, with the WTO estimating it could contribute between 5.4 per cent and 8.7 per cent to global GDP by 2030 if the agreements were fully implemented. It brings the World’s top developed and developing countries together to bring about consensus and reasoning into decision making through discussion.
In September 2021, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was appointed as India’s Sherpa for the G-20. The Ministry of External Affairs had said that India would, for the first time, hold the G-20 presidency from December 1, 2022, and convene the G-20 leaders’ summit in 2023. The announcement of holding it in Kashmir has virtually dropped a bombshell in Pakistan which lost no time to raise its objection.
“Contemplating the holding of any G-20-related meeting or event in J&K, in utter disregard of the globally acknowledged disputed status of the territory, is a travesty that the international community cannot accept under any circumstances,” the Foreign Office spokesman in Islamabad said in a statement. According to him, “any such controversial proposal” from India would be designed to seek international legitimacy “for an illegal and tyrannical occupation continuing for over seven decades”.
Pakistan’s restlessness over the idea of a G-20 summit in Kashmir is understandable for many reasons and facts. No major international conference has been held in Jammu and Kashmir as Islamabad has always raised the bogey of the State being “disputed”. Of the international sports events, just two cricket matches have been held in Srinagar– the first in October 1983 between India and West Indies and the second in September 1986 between India and Australia. An organised pro-Pakistan demonstration at the stadium in 1983 spoiled the show.
In the year 2003, Pakistan succeeded in blocking a 1000 crore World Bank fund for Integrated Watershed Development Project (IWDP-2) in Jammu and Kashmir even as the phase-1 of the project had been completed with a smaller aid from the World Bank.
When India and Pakistan were holding negotiations over starting a cross-LoC bus service between J&K and the Pakistan occupied Kashmir, Islamabad objected to the presence of the then Managing Director of the Jammu & Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation, Maulvi Mushtaq Ahmad, in a meeting in New Delhi. Maulvi Mushtaq, who was later shot dead in a terror attack, happened to be the maternal uncle of the Hurriyat chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq.
Even the performance of some Pakistani artistes in Kashmir raised controversies when so-called prople-to-people contact began brewing up after 2003. In March 2004, a troupe of Pakistani scouts and guides– some from PoK–visited Srinagar. In April 2004, Pakistani singer Samia Malik and the celebrated Indian choreographer Mallika Sarabhai performed together in Srinagar. Pakistan’s famous Sufi pop band ‘Junoon’ with lead singer Salman Ahmed performed at Sher-e-Kashmir International Conference Centre in Srinagar in May 2008. On all these occasions, political and militant groups across Pakistan raised hullabaloo forcing the establishment to take a hard line. These events by the Pakistani artistes were dismissed as a compromise on Islamabad’s traditional position on Kashmir.
The G-20 summit or its related group meetings in Kashmir would be the biggest diplomatic setback for Pakistan which has hardened its position on Kashmir after abrogation of Articles 370 and 35-A and split of the erstwhile State into the two Union Territories in 2019. Significantly the European Union, which used to call Kashmir as “the world’s largest open air prison”, is also a part of the G-20.
(The content is being carried under an arrangement with indianarrative.com)
The fund will be housed by the World Bank, while the WHO will advise the implementation and allocation of the money….reports Asian Lite News
The Group of 20 (G20) expects to collect no less than $1.5 billion by the end of this year to build infrastructure to prevent and prepare for potential pandemics in the future, said Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Indonesian Health Minister and the current G20 host.
The commitment to establishing the fund, called the Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF), was agreed upon by the Health Ministers of G20 members, along with the World Bank and the World Health Organisation (WHO), at the first Health Ministerial Meeting (HWG) held on June 20-21 in Indonesia’s Yogyakarta.
Sadikin told a press briefing on Thursday that as of now, several countries and a few charity foundations had pledged to donate a total of $1.1 billion, Xinhua news agency reported.
The fund will be housed by the World Bank, while the WHO will advise the implementation and allocation of the money.
The Indonesian Health Minister elaborated several allocation plans for the fund, including building and improving access to emergency medical countermeasures, establishing a global network of genomic surveillance labs, and building global research and manufacturing hubs.
Environmental control and management efforts for climate change are one of the strategic issues in this year's G20 Presidency. Environment Deputies Meeting and Climate Sustainability Working Group (EDM-CSWG) is one of the Working Groups in #G20Indonesia's Presidency (cont) pic.twitter.com/IskIEHSJIa
Sadikin added that the money will be used to produce emergency tools needed for timely and equitable responses to future pandemics, including vaccines, therapeutics, medicines, personal protective equipment, and testing kits, that will be equally distributed to all countries once another pandemic strikes.
The Minister said the G20 members agreed that they needed some connected sequence laboratories to identify and share genome sequence data from pathogens that can cause outbreaks.
“By having such connected labs we can anticipate or overcome an outbreak better. We will be able to get information faster with stronger data sharing mechanisms, then diagnose faster, then we can produce vaccines faster.”
He added that the G20 forum agreed to build several additional global research and manufacturing hubs in Southern countries for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
Most of the countries in the Global South are underdeveloped and developing countries, which faced more difficulties in facing the pandemic and obtaining access to vaccines.
Sadikin said that the ideal countries to build the hubs were those with large population.
“So, the Global South countries can develop and supply vaccines to their population in a more timely and equitable way.”
Local media reported that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus directly attended the HWG, and he estimated that the financial need for strengthening global health security reached $31 billion per year.
“WHO and the World Bank have estimated that we need $31 billion every year to strengthen global health security. Two-thirds of that amount could come from existing resources, but that leaves a gap of $10 billion per year,” he said.
Ghebreyesus suggested that the FIF be supervised by a Council and an Advisory panel that would be supported by the Joint Secretariat of the World Bank and WHO, which is based in Washington.
If the West plays the boycotting game, the survival of the G- 20 will become uncertain, and this at a time when there is a need for coordination to tamper the serious impact of the Ukrainian conflict on the global economy….writes KANWAL SIBAL
Prime Minister Modi has been invited to the three-day G 7 summit in Germany starting from June 26. The context of this meeting has changed drastically because of the Ukraine conflict. This exclusive forum to superintend the global financial system had lost its salience in the wake of the 2008 global financial crisis, with the G 20 emerging as a wider group to address it through policy coordination by the world’s top economies.
As part of the comprehensive sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the most potent is the weaponisation by the US of its financial power. Russian state and private assets have been frozen or confiscated, the Russian Central Bank and other major banks have been sanctioned, Russia has been expelled from the Swift system, western multinationals have withdrawn from Russia en masse, energy bans have been imposed and more will follow.
The West has declared Russia’s economic isolation as its goal. As a consequence, the global economy has come under pressure, oil prices have shot up with damaging impact on economies worldwide, food shortages are looming with disruption of global supplies of food grains and fertilisers. Inflationary pressures have built up. All countries are feeling the impact, including India.
With the West seeking the expulsion of Russia from the G -20, the viability of this forum is being called into question. At a G- 20 Finance Ministers virtual meeting in April in Washington D.C., the western Finance Ministers walked out when the Russian delegate spoke. This bodes ill for the G- 20 summit in Indonesia this year which President Putin will attend as of now, having accepted the invitation.
If the West plays the boycotting game, the survival of the G- 20 will become uncertain, and this at a time when there is a need for coordination to tamper the serious impact of the Ukrainian conflict on the global economy. The efforts of the US and Europe to boost oil supplies globally, for instance, is being done through bilateral diplomacy, not as a coordinated decision within the G- 20 format.
With the oxygen provided by the strengthening of transatlantic solidarity against Russia and energetic western diplomacy to pressure non-western countries to adhere to sanctions on Russia and join in condemning and isolating it, the G 7 is taking centerstage once again.
India has been invited to the G 20 summit, setting at rest rumours that we may not be because of our refusal to condemn Russia. India has, however, to weigh the consequences for the future of G-7 replacing or diluting the G-20 as the key politically and economically balanced grouping to steer the globe out of economic and financial crises.
In this context, the G-7 Foreign Ministers meeting from May 12 – 14 in Germany provides a clue to the nature and scope of discussions to be expected at the summit in June. The communique issued by the Foreign Ministers is all-encompassing. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is severely condemned, but to claim that it is “a watershed moment for the 21st century and carries dramatic consequences far beyond Europe”, and that it is “unprovoked”, is plainly rhetorical, as the conflict could have been avoided if sufficient effort had been made to find a negotiated solution, which is still lacking as the doors for any negotiation are being closed by continuing to arm Ukraine, seeking Russia’s isolation and a regime change in the country. It is revealing that the communique does not mention “diplomacy” or “negotiations” anywhere, whereas India in its statements has been underlining the need for both these, besides an immediate ceasefire.
The consequences beyond Europe flow from the draconian sanctions imposed on Russia and pressures on all countries to subscribe to them rather than an openness towards mitigating their adverse consequences on countries distant from what is essentially a revived Cold War conflict in Europe in a changed international landscape with the effective demise of the nonaligned movement.
To blame Russia for “one of the most severe food and energy crises in recent history which now threatens those most vulnerable across the globe” is to evade the major responsibility of the G- 7 in contributing to this situation.”
The communique speaks of a “coordinated multilateral response to preserve global food security and stand by our most vulnerable partners in this respect”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (Twitter@KremlinRussia_E)
It is blatantly wrong on the part of the G-7 Agricultural Ministers to chide India on May 13 for banning unapproved wheat exports and calling on it “to assume its responsibility as a G 20 member”. In response to this uncalled-for criticism, India in a UNSC meet convened by the US presidency on the subject has robustly defended its position.
New Delhi unequivocally asserted that its decision was meant to ensure that those most in need get relief and that the issue of food grains should not go the way of Covid -19 vaccines purchased by rich nations in excess of their requirements, depriving the less developed nations access to them.
India cautioned against hoarding and speculation. “Open markets must not become an argument to perpetuate inequity and promote discrimination”, India has said, adding that New Delhi intends to support the needs of neighbouring and other developing countries” by exporting only to those countries from which requests are received by India as a way to uphold equity, display compassion and promote social justice.
The communique speaks of economic coercion, information manipulation, including disinformation etc. in the context of Russia’s invasion. It talks of the G-7 working together through the Media Freedom Coalition to defend media freedom. There is a reference to Rapid Response Mechanism to collectively safeguard G-7 democracies from foreign threats in the information domain, linked again to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
But is Russia alone guilty of information manipulation and disinformation? The West has censored Russian media despite what is being claimed in terms of media freedoms. The narrative about the conflict in Ukraine is being tightly controlled by the Western media, with much disinformation. This is apparent also in the one-sided coverage of the crisis in India derived from western sources.
On the climate crisis the G-7 FM’s meeting talks of its commitment to provide support for developing countries to make the energy transition, including climate finance. This remains to be seen. The G-7 wants to explore establishing an open, cooperative international Climate Club, consistent with international rules, and with participation beyond the G-7. The import of this is not clear, as is the reference to just energy-transition partnerships on a case- by- case basis. The implication seems to be that financing, access to green technologies, technical assistance will be on a selective, not universal, basis.
Energy transition for sustainable growth is also linked to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, with a call to accelerating upstream investments, including in LNG projects and decreasing G-7 dependency on Russia’s energy, overlooking the fact that gas pipelines are more climate friendly than tanker supplied LNG.
It is also linked to development of secure and sustainable sources of critical minerals- including rare earth elements- essential for green technologies. Responsible business conduct including human rights and environmental due diligence in global value chains is seen as contributing to resilient supply chains- a way of bringing in these issues in investment by multinationals abroad.
While the communique speaks of “equitable access to and provision of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics” in the context of the pandemic, the US, EU and others are resisting in the WTO the scope of waivers under TRIPS for production of vaccines to meet the needs of developing countries, as proposed by India and South Africa.
The paras on the Indo-Pacific are strongly worded, with rejection of China’s claims in the South China Sea and urging it to comply with the UNCLOS arbitral award. Serious concern about the situation around the East and South China Seas is expressed. Significantly, neither the Quad nor AUKUS are mentioned.
There is no reference to the situation in the Indian Ocean or China’s aggression in Ladakh. China is, however, is asked to uphold the principles of the UN Charter and “abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation measures or use of force”. It is encouraged to support the independence and sovereignty of Ukraine, urge Russia to stop its aggression, not assist it or undermine sanctions, not justify its action and not engage in information manipulation and disinformation to legitimise its war against Ukraine. This sounds unrealistic in the context of China itself being declared as an adversary by the US and targeted in many ways, and the West’s own responsibility in pushing Russia into China’s arms.
The hardening of tone towards China is reflected in the support extended to Taiwan’s “meaningful participation in the World Health Assembly and WHO technical meetings.
Much more so in the expression of deep concern about the human rights situation in China, particularly in Xinjiang and Tibet, and the demand that independent observers, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, be given “immediate, meaningful and unfettered access” to both these territories. China is also asked to respect Hong Kong’s autonomy and rights.
The language on Myanmar is very strong too, and is not in line with India’s stance. On Afghanistan there is the usual verbal hand wringing about the abuse of human rights, especially of women and girls, recurring terrorist attacks against ethnic and religious minorities etc. but the irony is that the defiant Taliban have announced more measures suppressing the rights and freedoms of women, disregarding international reaction.
On Libya, the G- 7 urge the full resumption of oil production, even as they sanction Russian oil. The paras on Syria are very hard line. Iraq merits a long para, as does Yemen, the Horn of Africa, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Sahel, Gulf of Guinea, Venezuela and Haiti. Significantly, contrary to the US position, the G 7 commitment to a negotiated Two-State solution, with a viable Palestinian State is mentioned, as also the historic status quo in Jerusalem. The expansion of settlements is opposed. Other subjects touched are G7-Africa Partnership, with Russia’s Ukraine war blamed for rising energy, food and fertiliser prices and increased cost of borrowing in the continent.
On UN reform, the UNSG’s path for a more agile, integrated and cohesive UN is mentioned, whatever that means in practical terms. While recommitting itself to a reform of the UN Security Council- not expansion- deep concern is expressed by Russia’s abuse of its position as permanent member, particularly in the context of its Ukraine aggression. Clearly, the G-7 is not concerned about its credibility as its western members have taken military action against several countries without the approval of the UNSC and have used their veto power too whenever needed.
On the NPT and disarmament, the G- 7 statement relies on recycled formulations that have lost meaning and credibility, such as their commitment to disarmament and promoting the universalisation of NPT (when North Korea has quit the NPT and is expanding its nuclear arsenal despite western pressure). To say that they are committed to a “world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all” flies in the face of US allocating huge funds to modernise its nuclear arsenal and the UK’s Trident programme. Not only the western nuclear powers refuse to subscribe to the No First Use doctrine, the risk of a nuclear war is emerging in the way that the Ukraine war is sought to be used to corner a nuclear Russia.
The hope of the G- 7 of involving China in an active arms control dialogue has to be seen in the context of a rapid expansion of China’s nuclear arsenal and new ICBMs. The G-7 unrealistically demands that North Korea to verifiably abandon its nuclear weapons and missile programme. To move in that direction, genuine international cooperation is needed, the possibility of which in the UN or outside has receded with the rising confrontation between the US with both Russia and China, which may not want a nuclear North Korea on their borders but will want geopolitical concessions in return, for which the atmosphere is becoming less congenial.
The G-7, in a long para on Iran, states its commitment to ensure that Iran never develops a nuclear weapon and its support for a restoration and full implementation of the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), but places all the burden on Iran, omitting any reference to lifting of sanctions.
The para on international terrorism does not meet India’s requirements as it is not broad based, with only the threat from Daesh, Al-Qaeda and their affiliated groups being mentioned, though the call for the full implementation of the FATF standards is right. At the G-7 summit India will no doubt seek a stronger statement on terrorism that reflects India’s regional concerns relating to Pakistan and the Taliban in Afghanistan.
On infrastructure and connectivity, the China challenge is sought to be addressed through a step change to financing, adherence to existing international standards for sustainable, quality and transparent investment in line with G7 Ise-Shima principles and the G 20 principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment.
The importance of a geo-strategic approach to connectivity that contributes to value chains, reduces strategic dependencies, including on critical raw materials and energy, human centric digital ecosystem, high environmental, social, financial, labour, governance, open, economically efficient and transparency standards, including debt sustainability and promotion of G-7 values globally.
How the Russian war against Ukraine has far reaching impact on global connectivity and further highlights the benefits of diversified and resilient supply chains that the communique is not clear. Trying to link these agendas to Russia and Ukraine seems political propaganda. The intention is to closely align the EU Global Gateway, the US global infrastructure investment, the Japanese Partnership for Quality Infrastructure and the British international investment initiative.
How all this can work, with all its conditionalities, in developing countries and meet the BRI challenge in Eurasia or in our region is difficult to imagine.
The paras on making democracies more resilient and strengthening democratic institutions speak of malign behaviour and foreign hostile interference in democratic systems. The opposite is also true- of democratic countries interfering in the internal affairs of other countries to change their systems from within.
Human rights are linked to online freedoms. All countries are urged, in accordance with their international legal obligations and commitments, to refrain from intentional disruptions to render internet and mobile networks inaccessible as that undermines the exercise of individual rights and freedoms. This again is intrusive in scope.
The G-7 communique is excessively long, repetitive, tedious, sententious. In many parts the G- 7 agenda suits India’s interests, in many other parts it is intrusive and partisan in its thinking and is at odds with a more consensual and balanced approach that the G-20 can provide in addressing shared challenges.
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US, Canadian and British officials leave Group of 20 meeting in Washington as Russian delegates speak, Sunak says…reports Asian Lite News
Top finance officials from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have walked out of a meeting of the Group of 20 major economies (G20) in protest of Russia’s continued invasion of Ukraine.
Britain’s Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday that British, US and Canadian officials left the G20 meeting in Washington, DC as Russian delegates spoke.
“We are united in our condemnation of Russia’s war against Ukraine and will push for stronger international coordination to punish Russia,” Sunak wrote on Twitter.
Ukrainian officials in attendance also walked out of the meeting of top finance officials from the world’s 20 largest economies, a source familiar with the meeting told the Reuters news agency.
The incident came amid the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings, in which finance heads gather to tackle the world’s most pressing issues.
The brutal impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine, which began in late February and this week has shifted to the country’s eastern Donbas region, has taken centre stage.
US Treasury officials said earlier this week that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen would try to avoid contact with Russian officials who plan to attend some G20 events virtually.
US President Joe Biden has said that Russia should not remain a member of the G20, a position echoed by Canadian Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who walked out of Wednesday’s meeting.
“This week’s meetings in Washington are about supporting the world economy – and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine is a grave threat to the global economy. Russia should not be participating or included in these meetings,” she tweeted.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki expressed support for the walkout, saying it was “an indication of the fact that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and Russia have become a pariah on the global stage”.
“The [US] president and Secretary Yellen have both said we can’t have business as usual at the G20 or in a lot of these international forums as it relates to Russia,” Psaki told reporters during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov attended Wednesday’s meeting in person, while Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Russia’s central bank governor joined virtually, another source told Reuters.
Russia’s finance ministry did not mention the walkout in a statement issued after the meeting, but cited Siluanov as calling on the G20 not to politicise dialogue between members and stressing the grouping had always focused on the economy.
He also complained about the damaging effect of Western sanctions, the statement said.
“Another aspect of the current crisis is the undermining of confidence in the existing international monetary and financial system,” it said. “The safety of international reserves and the possibility of free trade and financial transactions are no longer guaranteed.”
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on Wednesday acknowledged it was a “difficult moment” for the G20, but she insisted that cooperation through the forum would continue.
“There are clearly very, very unsettling facts we have to deal with,” she said. “But we also recognise how interdependent we are … and it is so obvious that cooperation must and will continue.”
But as the war in Ukraine continues, and as Russian forces bombard cities across the country’s east, pressure is growing to exclude Russia from international organisations.
Earlier this month, the United Nations General Assembly expelled Russia from the Human Rights Council over the invasion, as nations raised “grave concern at the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine”.
This week, Washington and its allies in Europe also promised to “tighten” their sanctions against Moscow in an effort to end the bloodshed.
On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced fresh sanctions against dozens of people and entities, including Russian commercial bank Transkapitalbank and oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev.
The US “can and will target those who evade, attempt to evade, or aid the evasion of US sanctions against Russia, as they are helping support Putin’s brutal war of choice,” Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E Nelson said in a statement.
Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman. (File Photo: IANS)
The Finance Minister is holding meetings on the sidelines of the World Bank Group events, with counterparts from around the world and corporate leaders…reports Asian Lite News
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has called for “proactive collective efforts” by the G-20 group of the world’s top economies to deal with the current slowdown in the growth momentum of the global economy.
Addressing fellow ministers and central bank heads of the G-20 member countries, the minister attributed the slowdown to “prolonged inflation, supply chain disruption, volatility in energy markets and investor uncertainty”, according to a series of Twitter posts by the Ministry of Finance.
Sitharaman, who is in Washington DC for the Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group (which includes the International Monetary Fund), said G-20 “is well placed to catalyse international policy coordination to deal with macroeconomic consequences and called for proactive collective efforts towards protecting economies”, according to the Finance Ministry.
The 2022 April Spring Meetings are taking place amidst a significant slowdown in the global economy, whose recovery from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic was rudely halted by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the economic upheaval it has caused.
The IMF estimates that the “global growth will slow down from an estimated 6.1 per cent in 2021 to 3.6 per cent in 2022 and 2023. These are 0.8 and 0.2 percentage points lower for 2022 and 2023 projections in the January World Economic Outlook Update. Beyond 2023, global growth is forecast to decline to about 3.3 per cent over the medium term. This projection is based on the assumption that the conflict will remain confined to Ukraine further sanctions on Russia exempt the energy sector (although the impact of European countries’ decisions to wean themselves off Russian energy and embargoes announced through March 31, 2022, are factored into the baseline), and the pandemic’s health and economic impacts abate over the course of 2022”.
India’s growth projections have also been cut by both the fund and the World Bank. The fund said India will grow by 8.2 per cent in 2022, down 0.8 percentage points from 9 per cent as projected in January, which in itself was down 0.5 percentage points form its previous projection. The World Bank has projected 8 per cent growth for the Indian economy in 2022 in a report released last week.
The Finance Minister is holding meetings on the sidelines of the World Bank Group events, with counterparts from around the world and corporate leaders.
Sitharaman and US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo discussed “ways to strengthen economic cooperation in the bilateral and global contexts”, the ministry said in a tweet. She also met counterparts from the Netherlands and Suriname.
The G20 Finance and Health Ministers gathered in Rome for a joint meeting. (Photo_Twitter@g20org) File Pic
The Finance Minister pitched India to the US semiconductor industry in a meeting with John Neuffer, president and CEO of the Semiconductor Industry Association. She informed Neuffer of the “initiatives & policies rolled out by the Government of India (GoI) to attract & support foreign investment in semiconductor industry, including development of sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem with an outlay of $10 billion, in India”, the ministry said.
Neuffer was described as being “upbeat” about the initiatives taken by GoI to promote investment in Semiconductor ecosystem and appreciated India’s commitment to become a reliable player in the global supply chain.
