News Highlights
The G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) was held at Bali, Indonesia.
The gathering is the first time that foreign ministers from some of the world’s top economies meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
Key Takeaways of the Meeting
- Bali hosted the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (FMM) on 7-8 July 2022.
- It was held under the theme – Building a more peaceful, stable, and prosperous world together.
- G20 FMM consists of two sessions
- Session on Strengthening Multilateralism
- It explored joint actions to strengthen global collaboration and foster mutual trust among countries
- Aimed to create an enabling environment that will support world stability, peace, and development.
- Session on the Food and Energy crisis
- It discussed strategic actions to combat food insecurity, fertiliser shortage, and rising global commodity prices
- Session on Strengthening Multilateralism
- Discussion on Russia-Ukraine War?
- G20 foreign ministers urging Russia to end its war in Ukraine.
- Foreign ministers made a direct appeal at the meeting for Russia to unblock Ukraine’s grain exports.
- Meetings indicated the emerging differences within the G20 grouping
- Russia accused the United States of forcing Europe and the rest of the world to abandon cheap energy sources
- While the US blamed Moscow for “global food insecurity”
- The Ukraine war and its economic fallouts are hinting at a division within the ranks of the global grouping
- With the US, EU, Japan, Canada, Australia, France forming one anti-Russia block
- While the rest of the countries prefer a cautious approach asking for peaceful resolution of the war in Ukraine.
India in G20 FMM
- India as a G20 troika member
- Troika refers to the top grouping within the G20 that consists of the current, previous and the incoming presidencies — Indonesia, Italy and India.
- India assumes the G20 presidency
- India will assume the G20 Presidency on 1 December 2022 from Indonesia.
- It will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit for the first time in India in 2023.
- New Sherpa Elected
- Ex-NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant is new G-20 Sherpa
- Replacing Piyush Goyal, Minister for Commerce & Industry and Consumer Affairs, who was appointed as the G20 Sherpa in September last year.
- A Sherpa is a personal representative of the leader of a member country at an international Summit
- Ex-NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant is new G-20 Sherpa
What is G-20?
- The G20 was formed in 1999 in the backdrop of the financial crisis of the late 1990s that hit East Asia and Southeast Asia in particular
- Aim: To secure global financial stability by involving middle-income countries.
- It is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union (EU), with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
- Its members account for 60 percent of the world’s population, 80 percent of global GDP, and 75 percent of global trade.
- Members:
- Its members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the EU.
- India has been a member of the G20 since its inception in 1999.
- How does G 20 work?
- The G20 has no permanent secretariat.
- The agenda and work are coordinated by representatives of the G20 countries, known as ‘Sherpas’, who work together with the finance ministers and governors of the central banks.
- The forum has met every year since 1999 and since 2008, including a yearly Summit, with the participation of the respective Heads of State and Government.
Pic Courtesy: The Hindu
News Source: The Hindu