G20 finance ministers conclude Bali meeting without final communiqué

(Update 1: Adds end of meetings without final communiqué)

Jakarta, Jul 16 (EFE).- The finance ministers and central bank governors of the G20 meeting in Indonesia’s Bali on Saturday failed to issue a final communiqué due to disagreements over the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Despite these differences, the G20 ministers agree on most of the topics up for discussion, Indonesian finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said at a press conference held in Bali after the two-day meeting.

Only two out of the proposed final text’s 14 points were disagreed on by the participants of the meeting attended by a Russian delegation, she added.

The impact and blame of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the food security and energy crisis was one of the points that split the opinions of the United States and its partners on the one hand and Russia and China on the other.

The meeting sessions, which began Friday, took place in a hybrid format — face-to-face and virtually — focusing on issues such as the rise in food and energy prices as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and mechanisms against future pandemics and climate change.

Despite the lack of a joint statement, the Indonesian minister said that “concrete achievements” were obtained in the meetings, especially in relation to discussions on climate change, pandemics and proposals to alleviate food insecurity.

The G20 consists of Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, the United States, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, and the European Union.

Among the countries invited this year are Spain, the Netherlands, Fiji, Cambodia, Rwanda, Senegal, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates. EFE

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