US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated that participants at the G20 finance leaders in Bali agreed to step up work on tackling food insecurity and avoiding export restrictions.
On Saturday, Yellen told reporters that the senior finance officials reached a “strong consensus” on many issues, including the need to address a worsening food security crisis, despite differences over Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine that prevented leaders from issuing a joint final communique.
Her comments were echoed by Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who said that during the two-day summit, most topics were agreed upon by all members except for particular statements about the Ukraine conflict. She praised it as the "best result" the participants could have achieved.
Sri Mulyani stressed that while chairing a fractured G20 was “quite overwhelming”, all members agreed that the issue of food insecurity requires special attention, and that she called for the removal of trade protections that reportedly prevent the flow of food supplies.
“We are acutely aware that the cost of our failure to work together is more than we can afford. The humanitarian consequences for the world, and especially for many low income countries would be catastrophic,” she pointed out.
According to the minister, “progress” was separately made on international tax rule changes that will set a global minimum corporate tax rate of 15 percent by 2024.
The Indonesian likewise added that participants also encouraged further progress on the implementation of the Common Framework for Debt Treatment beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) in a timely and coordinated manner.
She said there were discussions during the Bali summit on how to make the framework more effective for countries in need.
Established in May 2020, the DSSI helped countries focus their resources on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of millions of the most vulnerable people. At least 48 out of 73 eligible countries took part in the initiative before it expired at the end of 2021.
In this context, Indonesian Central Bank Governor Perry Warjiyo called on his counterparts from G20 countries and global finance leaders to concentrate on global economic recovery after the coronavirus pandemic.
As far as the food crisis is concerned, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the World Food Programme, as well as the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Trade Organization called for action in four areas.
"Support the vulnerable, facilitate trade, boost food production & invest in climate-resilient agriculture," IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva stressed in a tweet late Friday.
Other topics of discussion included regulation of cryptocurrencies and other digital currencies, the establishment of a World Bank fund for pandemic research and preparedness, plus plans to create a Resilience and Sustainability Trust through the IMF that will provide funds to countries in need of debt relief and other financial aid.