In talks on the Indonesian island of Bali, finance chiefs sought answers to the food and energy crises, while accusing Russian technocrats of worsening the unrest.
U. S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday accused ukraine’s invasion of sending shock waves into the global economy.
Instead of an official matrix, a paragraph of 14 would be issued through Indonesia, G20 President Sri Mulyani Indrawati’s finance minister said in his closing remarks.
He said there was consensus on the maximum of the document, but two paragraphs would concentrate on members’ differences related to the effects of the war and how to respond.
“I think that’s the most productive outcome,” he said.
At the start of the day of talks, Indonesian central bank governor Perry Warjiyo called on global finance ministers and leaders to recover in a global economy reeling from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The meeting came after the International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for expansion, and a further downward revision was expected this month as U. S. inflation worsened. The U. S. is fanning fears of a recession.
But the talks were overshadowed by the war in Ukraine after it rattled world markets, caused food costs to skyrocket and inflation rose.
The Kremlin calls the war a “special army operation” and accuses Western sanctions of retaliation for blocking food shipments and raising energy prices.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov and Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko participated in the meeting.
Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov attended the talks a week after Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov left a G20 assembly following Western complaints about the invasion.
Maksimov in the courtroom as Western officials voiced their condemnation, according to a source present. Marchenko called for “tougher targeted sanctions” against Moscow.
Indonesia has refrained from pulling Russia out of G20 meetings, a leaders’ summit in November, even as Western nations have repeated their calls for Moscow to be excluded from the group.
Yellen and Freeland, of Ukrainian origin, said representatives of Russian President Vladimir Putin had no position in the talks.
Observers said a lack of agreement on a joint communiqué would hamper coordinated efforts to tackle emerging inflation and food shortages.
“The absence of a communiqué from G20 finance ministers means it will be harder for the G20 to forge a consensus on major issues in the fall,” said Eric LeCompte, executive director of the Jubilee USA Network, an NGO that lobbies for emerging countries’ debt. . relief.
“Internal divisions are hampering the G20’s ability to act decisively and leaving the world in uncharted waters. “
Yellen held bilateral meetings with opposing numbers from Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Australia, Singapore and Turkey, the Treasury said, pushing for a cap on Russian oil costs to cut Off Putin’s war chest.
In reaction to the food crisis, the IMF, the World Bank, the World Food Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization also have for action in 4 areas.
“Support vulnerable people, facilitate trade, encourage food production, and invest in climate-resilient agriculture,” IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva tweeted Friday night, summarizing the call to action.
Members also discussed sustainable finance, cryptocurrencies and taxes on Saturday.
Mulyani said “progress” has been made on adjustments to foreign tax regulations that will set a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15% through 2024.