Reuters-Jakarta G20 finance leaders will meet in Bali this week to discuss global food security and soaring inflation. Host Indonesia hopes frictions over the Ukraine war won’t derail discussions.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine overshadowed a G20 meeting last week, as Russia’s top diplomat walked out and accused the West of “frenzied criticism.”
Indonesia hopes to issue a communique when talks end on Saturday, but its central bank governor said a chair’s statement will suffice if not.
Indonesia’s central bank governor, Perry Warjiyo, said, “We hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.”
“We’re still trying to reach a communique,” he said last week.
Indonesian officials have noted disagreements between Western countries and Russia over how to word a draught communique describing the global economy and how the Ukraine war is affecting it.
At the last G20 meeting in April in Washington, no communiqué was issued, and some Western officials left when the Russian representative spoke.
Janet Yellen and Shunichi Suzuki blamed the war for currency market volatility and a global recession after meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Yellen and Suzuki will be in Bali.
Indonesia said Russia’s Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov, will attend the meeting virtually. Ukraine’s finance minister will attend virtually.
Warjiyo said that the G20 made a lot of progress on crypto regulations and digital currencies issued by central banks.
Indonesia’s G20 finance deputy, Wempi Saputra, said the group will try to help poor countries face a food crisis by ensuring food and fertiliser supply and affordability.
Setting up a World Bank fund to better prepare for future pandemics, an IMF Resilience and Sustainability Trust that countries in need of funds can access, and debt relief for poor countries are also on the agenda.
Yellen urged China and other non-Paris Club creditors to help low-income countries facing debt distress “constructively”.
Wempi said a multinational signing of a global tax agreement has been delayed. The OECD has moved the major tax overhaul to 2024 from 2023.
