G20 podium
The Third G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting held at Gandhinagar from July 17 to 18 has successfully pushed the agenda of debt distress, which is happening in the Global South as well with an agreement for speedy & effective resolution. ‘’I’m glad that since February when we started talking about the issue, resolutions are now happening speedily and effectively. There’s a common understanding that global consensus is required for regulating crypto assets and its effect on the emerging markets.Need to reform the Multilateral Development Banks to address challenges of the 21st century was also highlighted,’’said Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her briefing on the G20 Outcome Document and Chair’s Summary.
‘’There was a lot of discussion & positive suggestions were put forward on ‘Financing the Cities of Tomorrow’. India’s G20 Presidency prioritising the same also received a lot of support.The Principles designed by the Indian G20 Presidency will enable cities to develop customised policies that encourage alternative financing sources,’’ said Sitharaman.
‘’G20 members endorsed a ‘Roadmap for Implementation of Recommendations of the G20 Independent Review of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) Capital Adequacy Frameworks (CAF)’. This roadmap will help unlock more lending resources in MDBs. Global Debt vulnerabilities were intensely discussed & they gained a lot of traction. It reflected the endeavour of India’s presidency to get the voice of the Global South onto the G20 table,’’ said Sitharaman. She further added that G20 members welcomed the progress achieved on various ongoing debt treatment cases.
‘’India’s G20 Presidency has brought the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) agenda to the table. Members acknowledged the significant role of DPI in rapidly advancing financial inclusion & productivity gains, thereby transforming the lives of the poor in the country. DPI agenda has had great recognition for the achievements in the scaling up that happened in India,’’ said Sitharaman.
‘’Under the Indian Presidency’s theme of “One Earth, One Family, One Future”, we pledge to prioritize the well-being of our people and the planet and reaffirm our commitment to enhancing international economic cooperation, strengthening global development for all and steering the global economy towards strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth (SSBIG),’’ said the G20 Outcome Document.
Referring to the Ukraine and Russia war, the G20 Outcome Document said the peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue are vital. Today’s era must not be of war.
We also reaffirm the importance of the rules-based, non-discriminatory, fair, open, inclusive, equitable, sustainable and transparent multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core in restoring growth and job creation and reiterate our commitment to fight protectionism and encourage concerted efforts for reform of the WTO.
On Climate Change, the document said, ‘The macroeconomic costs of the physical impacts of climate change are significant at an aggregate level and the cost of inaction substantially outweighs that of orderly and just climate transitions. We recognise the importance of international dialogue and cooperation, including in the areas of finance and technology, and timely policy action consistent with country- specific circumstances.’’
‘’We continue to reaffirm our steadfast commitment to strengthening the full and effective implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. We recall and reaffirm the commitment made by developed countries to the goal of mobilising jointly USD 100 billion climate finance per year by 2020, and annually through 2025, to address the needs of developing countries, in the context of meaningful mitigation action and transparency in implementation. Developed country- contributors expect this goal to be met for the first time in 2023. In this context, we also support continued deliberations on an ambitious new collective quantified goal of climate finance from a floor of USD 100 billion per year to support developing countries, that helps in fulfilling the objective of the UNFCCC and implementation of the Paris Agreement,’’ it said.
On initial Capital Adequacy Frameworks (CAF) measures, including those under implementation and consideration, could potentially yield additional lending headroom of approximately the document said,’’$200 billion over the next decade, as estimated in the G20 CAF Roadmap. While these are encouraging first steps, we will need continued and further impetus on CAF implementation.’’
‘We emphasise the need for enhanced mobilisation of finances and efficient use of existing resources in our efforts to make the cities of tomorrow inclusive, resilient, and sustainable. To this effect, we endorse the G20 Principles for Financing Cities of Tomorrow, which are voluntary and non-binding in nature and the G20/OECD Report on Financing Cities of Tomorrow, which provides a financing strategy as well as presents a compendium of innovative urban planning and financing models. We encourage stakeholders, including the Development Financial Institutions and the MDBs, to explore the potential of drawing upon these principles in their planning and financing of urban infrastructure wherever applicable and share experiences from early pilot cases,’ said the document.
‘’A Infrastructure Investors’ Dialogue on ‘Leveraging Funding and Financing Mechanisms and Approaches for the Cities of Tomorrow’ was also held during the G20FMCBG in Gandhinagar,’’ said Sitharaman.
Further, the meeting welcomed the conclusion of the call for proposals by the Pandemic Fund and look forward to the first round of funding in the coming months.
