No full consensus; food security, inflation, Ukraine war top agenda

BALI, Indonesia — Finance chiefs at the Group of 20 meeting in Bali “strongly condemned” the war in Ukraine and expressed concern over an “alarming increase of food and energy insecurity.”

That’s according to a statement issued by the G-20 host Indonesia on Sunday.

The group, which met over two days in the island resort of Bali, could not reach consensus on several issues and did not issue a joint statement. The previous G-20 finance leaders’ meeting in Washington in April also ended without the release of a joint communique.

Instead, a statement issued by the Bank of Indonesia on Sunday summarized the main discussion points of several rounds of meetings held privately. In particular, finance chiefs and central bank leaders from the grouping pledged to battle food insecurity and high prices which continue to “disproportionately” impact vulnerable countries.

“Many members agreed that the recovery of the global economy has slowed and is facing a major setback as a result of Russia´s war against Ukraine, which was strongly condemned, and called for an end to the war,” the statement from Indonesia’s central bank said.

“Members noted that existing challenges have been exacerbated, including supply-demand mismatches, supply disruptions, and increased commodity and energy prices, which have added to rising inflationary pressures and contributed to the increasing risk of food insecurity.”

“Many members noted the importance of continued action on climate change, as well as on addressing debt vulnerabilities,” it said.

All members at the meeting — which included Russia and Ukraine, virtually — pledged to use all policy tools available to tackle the food crisis. However, there was no indication that commitments were made to ensure future sanctions against Russia involving food and key supplies would be avoided.

The upending of supply chains during the pandemic — now worsened by the Russia-Ukraine crisis — have delayed and curtailed the delivery of food, fertilizer and fuel to many parts of the world including countries in Africa and the Middle East.

“Many members stand ready to take prompt collective actions on food security, including by working with other initiatives,” the statement said.

Broadly, all G-20 central banks agreed to tackle inflation and calibrate monetary policies that would rein in soaring prices.

Central bank chiefs and finance ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to bring the Covid-19 pandemic under control.

“We welcome the establishment of a Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) for pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response as developed by the G20 Joint Finance-Health Task Force and hosted by the World Bank,” the statement from Indonesia said.

The FIF — funded voluntarily by members — will ensure adequate, sustained and better coordinated financing for pandemic responses.

Climate change was discussed and members pledged to meet their COP26 commitments in reaching carbon neutrality and net zero targets.