WATERLOO – Financial officials from the Group of Twenty meet on Thursday in Washington, despite the fact that Russia’s presence casts doubt on the likelihood of any settlement and the effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the global economy.
The meeting’s participants will discuss ways to overhaul the financial industry and the global tax system, including the 20 finance ministers and central bank governors.
Following a business luncheon, they reassembled on Wednesday night for a government conference where financial experts addressed the global economy eight months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and extraordinary withdrawal allocations granted by the IMF for poor nations.
The world economy saw a significant downturn, according to a report released on Tuesday by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF also announced lower forecasts for global growth in 2019 and predicted even stagnation in Germany and Italy.
The World Bank issued a warning on Friday about the potential for a new “debt crisis” in relation to the loans of developing nations due to the present spike in interest rates, which is linked to the rapid increase in energy prices.
Russia’s participation in the Group of Twenty Discussions will make it more difficult for the organization’s leaders to come to an agreement on its final statement in light of the present economic slowdown.
A source in the French Ministry of Economy said that “it may be difficult to reach joint data”, whether during the G20 meeting or in the International Monetary Fund meetings, given the participation of Russia.
Due to the significant disparities in viewpoints between the countries gathering this year under the Indonesian presidency, no statement could be reached during the two prior meetings of financial officials in the Group of Twenty in April and July.
US President Joe Biden stated on Tuesday that “there is no intention” to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, whose attendance at the Bali summit is still uncertain due to international circumstances, before the upcoming summit of the Group of Twenty heads of state and governments in November.
The French Economy Minister Bruno Lummer stated during his online participation in a meeting of the seven major nations in Washington on Wednesday that “the Group of Seven has a real role that should play it” due to the ongoing obstruction and the inability of the Group of Twenty to come to a consensus.
The Group enlarged throughout the meeting to advance its proposal for a cap on Russian oil prices and is still debating the instruments required to carry out this approach.
As the Group of Twenty approaches, another point of tension appeared in the past days, as the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries and its partners from outside OPEC decided to reduce production shares amid the global energy crisis.
The G20 member, who Biden did not name, will be subject to “consequences,” he threatened. However, Riyadh and the Gulf Cooperation Council responded with a strong statement today to emphasize the lack of political alignment and defend the economic interests of the Gulf states..
The Group of Twenty Finance wants to change the way the world taxes its citizens.
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