Status: 07/17/2022 09:08 a.m
The G20 finance ministers were unable to agree on a joint final declaration because of the Russian war of aggression. Host Indonesia has therefore published its own. There it says that the war was “clearly” condemned.
According to G20 hosts Indonesia, numerous member states have condemned Russia’s war of aggression once morest Ukraine. In Indonesia’s final declaration for the two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 countries in Bali, it was said that “many members” agreed that “Russia’s war once morest Ukraine” was a burden on the global economy. The war was “clearly condemned” and its end was demanded.
At the end of the two-day meeting, no joint final declaration was made, as there had been a dispute over the war with Russia, which is itself a G20 member. As at a similar meeting in April in Washington, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said the representatives of the 20 leading industrial and emerging countries might not agree on whether a statement on the Russian war of aggression once morest Ukraine should be included.
Unity on the food crisis
Indonesia, which is neutral in terms of foreign policy, published a final declaration with 14 paragraphs as the host nation. Two of them dealt with differences between Member States. These would have affected the Western sanctions once morest Russia, which “one member state” described as an “additional challenge”. The state is probably Russia itself.
In addition, there was no common position on the question of whether the Russian invasion of Ukraine would exacerbate the global food crisis. While many Western countries have accused Russia of blocking grain exports from Ukrainian ports and burning harvested grain, Moscow denies any guilt.
However, all participants – including Russia – agreed that the global food crisis must be addressed. “We all agreed that food supply insecurity requires attention, intervention and appropriate policies, and therefore we discussed how to address supply disruptions,” said Sri Mulyani Indrawati. Protectionism must be eliminated so that food can move more easily from the producer to the recipient countries.
There was also agreement in other areas: among other things, the introduction of international tax rules in 2024 and cooperation in the fight once morest the corona pandemic, rising inflation and climate change. The next meeting of G20 finance ministers is scheduled for October in Washington.
