G20 finance ministers’ meeting ends without joint communique

G20 finance ministers’ meeting ends without joint communique

Bali (Web Desk): A two-day meeting of finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies ended on Saturday in Indonesia without a joint communique after Russia’s war in Ukraine divided the global forum.

During talks on the Indonesian resort island Bali, the finance chiefs looked for solutions to food and energy crises, while accusing Russian technocrats of exacerbating the problems.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Friday blamed the invasion of Ukraine for sending a shockwave through the global economy. In place of a formal communique would be a 14-paragraph statement issued by Indonesia, the G20 chair’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in closing remarks.

She said there was consensus on most of the document but two paragraphs would focus on members’ differences regarding the war’s impacts and how to respond. “I think this is the best result,” she said.

Members also discussed sustainable finance, cryptocurrencies and international taxation on Saturday.

Mulyani said “progress” was made on international tax rule changes that will set a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 per cent by 2024.