G-20 Finance Meet Ends Without a Communique But Progress on Food

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There was progress on issues such as food and energy security at the Group of 20 finance chiefs meeting, despite the fact that they didn't have a regular communique.

While countries agreed on most of a briefer chair summary released by host nation Indonesia, which included the need to respond to the food and fuel crisis, disagreement over the root cause prevented them from issuing a statement. The finance minister said that the war in Ukraine is an issue that cannot be reconciled.

The focus was on ways to support the most vulnerable at the meetings in Indonesia. The G-20 is considering setting up a fund similar to one that was set up for the global health crisis. The debt treatment for Chad and Ethiopia was one of the topics discussed.

Indrawati said that the results were some of the very concrete ones. The G-20 needs to be defended and maintained as a global economic cooperation forum.

An oil-price cap initiative to mitigate global inflation while punishing Russia over what she calls "horrific consequences" of the war in Ukraine has been high on the agenda for the US Treasury Secretary. The proposal will be discussed with Indonesia's energy- related ministries.

The Treasury said in a statement that there were a number of bilateral meetings with Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan. The ministers responded to the oil price cap appeal in a way that wasn't included in the statement.

When Russian officials spoke on the first day of the official sessions, all country representatives stayed in the room.

A global tax deal that brought together almost 140 countries to establish a 15% global corporate tax minimum rate was dealt a blow by developments overnight in Washington. A member of the president's own party in the US Congress has delayed a crucial vote in the implementation of the negotiation.

The meetings yielded other developments.

• Warjiyo highlighted areas of progress, including the Financial Stability Board’s work toward setting a roadmap for climate risks
• Indonesia kicked off the Energy Transition Mechanism as a model for “just, affordable” way for developing countries to wean themselves off of coal
• An FSB statement this week sets out how crypto assets, including stablecoins, could pose a threat to global financial stability. The recent crash in the value of stablecoins such as Terra have led global regulators to call for more oversight to keep the meltdown from contaminating other assets. The FSB will issue global rules for crypto in October

Haslinda and Andy helped.