G7 addresses banking digitization, supply chains on second day

Niigata, Japan, May 12 (EFE).- Bank digitization and the evolution of supply chains was the main focus Friday of debates as G7 countries’ finance ministers and central bank governors met in the Japanese city of Niigata for a second day.

The first session began promptly at 09:03am local time (00:03 GMT) Friday at the Toki Messe convention center in the port town on Japan’s west coast.

During their talks, G7 financial officers, joined by their European counterparts and the International Monetary Fund, among other attendees, are expected to explore ways to protect financial stability amid the proliferation and expansion of online banking.

“It is clear that financial concerns can spread in an instant through social networks, and online banking, which allows money withdrawals outside business hours, can cause financial panic,” Japanese Finance Minister Shinichi Suzuki said on the opening day.

The Japanese presidency of the G7 wants to place special emphasis on financial digitization and the protection of the stability of the sector to avoid turbulence such as those experienced by markets in recent weeks. This is due to the collapse of several financial institutions in the United States and also Switzerland’s Credit Suisse.

The G7 said the financial system is solid despite problems unleashed by the collapse of the entities, but Japan seeks that international partners share the lessons learned from these episodes to avoid similar ones.

Finance ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US are also scheduled to discuss the need to build resilient supply chains for key products after problems experienced in the pandemic or geopolitical factors such as the war in Ukraine.

The dominance of certain countries, such as China, over some of these components will also be in the spotlight.

Also on the agenda is the vulnerability of the debt between developing countries and emerging powers, a topic that will be addressed in an unusual dialogue session during the afternoon and to which countries and regions such as Brazil, India or the African Union.

Japan says it wants the G7 to build a “mutually beneficial” relationship with these territories precisely for this transformation of supply chains, which can boost investment. EFE

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