Gandhinagar (India) (EFE) multilateral development banks and reach agreements on global indebtedness, among unknowns about their ability to obtain results.
The US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, and the Chinese Finance Minister, Liu Kun, are some of the most prominent world leaders who have attended the meeting in the city of Gandhinagar, although the absence of other finance chiefs stands out. of the Group of Twenty who have been present at the two previous meetings.
Other leaders such as his Japanese counterpart, Shun’ichi Suzuki, or the Canadian Chrystia Freeland have also gone to Gandhinagar, while countries like Brazil or France have limited themselves to sending lower-ranking officials on this occasion.
Lui Kun stressed, after a meeting with his Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman this morning on the sidelines of the G20, “that many results have been achieved so far.” For the moment, however, the outcome is uncertain until the G20 ministers wrap up their meetings this afternoon.
Last meeting before the September appointment
Gandhinagar is the last financial meeting until the leaders’ meeting next September, seen as key to reaching a consensus on how to alleviate the debt crisis that affects more than half of the 69 poorest countries in the world, according to the United Nations.
Faced with this situation, the UN asked the G20 ministers last week to work on a pause in the payment of public debt, in addition to promoting a common framework between bilateral creditors, financial institutions and debtors, for economic recovery.
The willingness of China, a member of the group and the main global creditor, to restructure its debt is essential for many countries with liquidity problems.
The heads of Finance of the “Group of Twenty” are also trying to move forward together to guarantee the payment of taxes by multinationals in countries where they are active and guarantee a minimum rate of 15% for corporate tax, with India and the United States “close to reaching an agreement,” Yellen said yesterday.
The Financial Stability Board (FSB), which integrates the G20 countries, also yesterday presented its final recommendations to regulate crypto assets and stablecoins.
The World Bank warns the G20 about the “frustration” of the Global South over debt
The recently appointed president of the World Bank, Ajay Banga, warned the G20 Finance Ministers on Tuesday about the “frustration” of the Global South with rich countries, generating a “mistrust” that could increase the division of the world in the face of the growing crisis. debt and climate change.
“What keeps me up at night is the mistrust that quietly separates North and South at a time when we need to come together. The frustration of the Global South is understandable. In many ways, they are paying the price for our prosperity,” Banga said in the Indian city of Gandhinagar.
The coronavirus crisis, the war in Ukraine and climate change are “limiting” the ambition of developing countries “and they worry that poverty will grip another generation”.
“When they should be on the rise, they are worried that the promised resources will be diverted to the reconstruction of Ukraine, they believe that energy regulations are not applied fairly,” stressed the American and former director of Mastercard, who became president of the World Bank on past June 2.
Banga highlighted the new commitment of the international organization to create a world free of poverty, with measures such as “a new debt pause option for countries that suffer the consequences of a natural catastrophe so that they can focus on recovery and not worry about payment of bills.”