G20 finance ministers meet in India to work on multilateral banks’ reform

By David Asta Alares

Gandhinagar, India, July 17 (EFE).- The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors began a two-day meeting on Monday to work on the reform of multilateral development banks and achieve agreements on the global debt crisis.

“Addressing critical global issues such as strengthening the Multilateral Development Banks and taking coordinated climate action, and facilitating consensus to intractable issues associated with rising indebtedness of low and middle income countries” will be some of the points to be discussed, India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a televised address.

Ahead of a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Sitharaman expressed confidence that the India-US “partnership will create a prosperous and equitable future, making it a catalyst for positive change worldwide.”

Yellen, for her part, stressed the importance of reforming the multilateral development banks to “unlock $200 billion over the next decade just from the measures already being implemented or under deliberation as part of this process.”

The third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting under India’s G20 presidency, which is being held in the Indian city of Gandhinagar, will be the last such meeting before the leaders’ summit in September.

More than half of the world’s 69 poorest countries are at high risk of or already in debt distress while a quarter of middle-income countries are also at high risk of fiscal crisis, according to the United Nations.

Last week, the UN asked the G20 ministers to give poor countries a pause in debt repayments in addition to promoting a common framework between bilateral creditors, financial institutions and debtors.

The willingness of China, a G20 member and the world’s largest creditor, to restructure its debt is critical for many countries with liquidity problems.

The US will also seek to increase financial assistance to Ukraine amid its ongoing war with Russia.

However, India, which has taken a neutral position on the war from the outset, continues to try to prevent these discussions from eroding the gains made by the group as a common economic forum.

The G20 finance chiefs are also trying to make progress in the implementation of a global minimum corporate tax for multinational companies. EFE

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