Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati will deliver a speech at the opening of the group of 20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Nusa Dua, on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, on July 15, 2022.
BALI, Indonesia – CFOs at the Group of 20 meeting in Bali “strongly condemned” the war in Ukraine and expressed concern over an “alarming increase in food and energy security”.
It is according to a statement issued by G-20 host Indonesia on Sunday.
The group, which met over two days in the resort of Bali on the island, could not reach a consensus on several issues and did not issue a joint statement. The previous G-20 CFO meeting in Washington in April also ended without the release of joint communications.
Instead, a statement from the Bank of Indonesia on Sunday summarized the main points of discussion in several rounds of meetings held privately. In particular, CFOs and central bank governors from the group have promised to fight against food insecurity and high prices that continue to “disproportionately” affect vulnerable countries.
“Many members agreed that the recovery of the global economy has slowed down and are facing a major setback as a result of Russia’s war against Ukraine, which was strongly condemned, and called for an end to the war,” said the Central Bank of Indonesia. in the bank.
Many members are ready to take rapid collective action for food security, including by working on other initiatives.
“Members noted that existing challenges have been exacerbated, including supply-demand imbalances, supply disruptions and rising commodity and energy prices, which have contributed to increasing inflationary pressures and contributed to the growing risk of food insecurity.”
“Many members noted the importance of continuing action against climate change, as well as addressing debt vulnerability,” it said.
All the members of the meeting – which practically included Russia and Ukraine – promised to use all available political tools to deal with the food crisis. However, there were no indications that commitments were made to ensure that future sanctions against Russia involving food and key supplies would be avoided.
The rise of supply chains during the pandemic – now exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine crisis – has delayed and limited the supply of food, fertilizer and fuel to many parts of the world, including countries in Africa and the Middle East.
“Many members are ready to take rapid collective action for food security, including by working on other initiatives,” the statement said.
Virtually all G-20 central banks agreed to tackle inflation and calibrate monetary policy, which would limit high prices.
From climate change to digital currencies
Governors and finance ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to bringing the Covid-19 pandemic under control. See the article : Ten small lifestyle changes to improve your health.
“We welcome the establishment of a financial intermediary fund (FIF) for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response as developed by the G20 Joint Finance-Health Task Force and organized by the World Bank,” the statement from Indonesia said.
FIF – voluntarily funded by the members – will ensure adequate, sustained and better coordinated funding for pandemic response.
Climate change was discussed and members promised to meet their COP26 commitments to achieve carbon neutrality and net zero targets.
The group promised to phase out and rationalize, in the medium term, “inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels that encourage waste.”
“We continue to recall and reaffirm the commitment of developed countries, to the goal of jointly mobilizing $ 100 billion in climate funding per year by 2020 and annually until 2025 to meet the needs of developing countries, in the context of meaningful mitigation measures,” the statement said. .
The group acknowledged that there has been progress in the use of digitalisation in global financial transactions, and agreed to step up efforts to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
“We continue to welcome discussions on the central bank’s digital currencies, as these may be designed to facilitate cross – border payments while maintaining the stability of the international monetary and financial system,” the statement said.
