The finance ministers and central banks of the countries of the G20 Negotiations began on Monday to seek debt restructuring agreements as well as financing for climate change, in a context of slowdown in the world economy.
The Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, who chairs and hosts the meeting in Gandhinagar, in the state of Gujarat (west), opened the discussions by reminding financial leaders that they have “a responsibility to steer the world economy towards strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth”. .
One of the key points on the agenda for these two days will be to “facilitate consensus on the intractable issues related to the debt increase“, said Sitharaman on Monday, when speaking to the press along with Janet Yellenthe United States Secretary of the Treasury.
The meetings will also focus on “crucial global issues such as strengthening multilateral development banks and taking coordinated climate action,” Sitharaman added.
Yellen also spoke about efforts to combat the over-indebtedness of the world’s poorest countries, noting progress made on Zambia’s debt restructuring, which he discussed during his visit to China this month.
China, The world’s second-biggest economy and the top donor to several struggling low-income countries in Asia and Africa has so far opposed taking a common multilateral position on the issue, officials said.
Several economies in difficulties after the double impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the consequences of the war of Russia in Ukraine (affecting world fuel and commodity prices) “are reaching a breaking point,” an Indian official said.
Other issues to be discussed at the G20
He G20 will also discuss the reform of the multilateral development banks, the cryptocurrency regulation and the need to facilitate the access of the poorest countries to financing to mitigate the effects of climate change and adapt to it.
“In the countries of the North, climate change is synonymous with reducing CO2 emissions,” said Ajay Banga, the new president of the world Bankin an article published this week before the meeting.
“But in countries of the South, it’s a matter of survival,” he said, “because hurricanes are more violent, heat-resistant seeds are rare, drought destroys farms and cities, and floods wash away decades of progress.”
The implementation of the first stage of an agreement on a more equitable distribution of tax revenues from multinational companies, concluded last week by 138 countries, is also planned.
At present, the multinationals, especially the technology companies, they can easily transfer their profits to low-tax countries, even if they only carry out a small part of their activities there.
As for aid to Ukraine, any discussion of supporting the country at war is uncomfortable for India, host of the G20, which has so far not condemned the Russian invasion, although it is a member of the so-called Quad alliance, along with Australia, the United States United States and Japan.
Source: Ambito
