Policy collaboration stressed at G20 talks

Finance chiefs reiterate commitment to sustainable, balanced economic growth

G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in India have reiterated their commitment to enhancing international policy collaboration and steering the world economy toward strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.

The G20 Chair's Summary and Outcome Document issued after the two-day meeting in the southern city of Bengaluru on Saturday said global growth remains slow, and downside risks persist, including elevated inflation, a resurgence of the pandemic and tighter financing conditions that could exacerbate debt vulnerabilities in many emerging market and developing economies.

"We will continue to enhance macro policy cooperation and support the progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," it said. "We will use macro-prudential policies, where required, to safeguard against downside risks. We will prioritize temporary and targeted fiscal support to vulnerable groups while maintaining medium-term fiscal sustainability."

Addressing the meeting by video on Friday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said: "It is up to the custodians of the leading economies and monetary systems of the world to bring back stability, confidence and growth to the global economy.

"Global economic leadership can win back the confidence of the world only by creating an inclusive agenda," he added.

Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the G20 can transform lives worldwide by drawing on the complementary strengths of members while respecting countries' needs and circumstances.

Governor of the Reserve Bank of India Shaktikanta Das said G20 members must resolutely tackle challenges such as threats to financial stability and debt distress.

"Within the finance track, our effort will be to entrench an unwavering faith in the G20 as a multilateral forum that can energize multilateralism to address the various global issues and challenges that confront us today."

The G20 Chair's Statement showed that consensus had been reached on a number of issues, including regulating debt and cryptocurrency, said Swaran Singh, professor of diplomacy and disarmament at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

All vulnerable countries are looking to the G20 to provide them relief from debt default, he said.

"More important, they were able to take forward the G20 initiatives with regard to a large number of such specific cases including those of Ethiopia, Ghana, Zambia, and Sri Lanka."

Delegates at the Bengaluru meeting agreed to form an expert panel to discuss details on the role of multilateral development banks in regulating debt and cryptocurrencies, said Singh, visiting professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.

Professor Lawrence Loh of the National University of Singapore said the solution to the debt issue and crypto problems "involves a supranational and multilateral approach".

"The G20 meeting has (made) a notable start to tackle the conundrum."

The gap between higher-income and lower-income countries has become "a divisive challenge for global unity and shared prosperity", he said.

"The G20 proceedings this year should be a watershed where G20 countries, being the more significant economic powerhouses, should take on the responsible role of helping the low- and medium-income countries."

The G20 this year provides a pivotal opportunity to close the North-South divide between developed and developing countries, Loh said.

The first ministerial-level meeting under India's G20 presidency had managed to address many challenges, Singh said. The meeting "has to ensure that the G20 stays on course and does not get distracted from keeping a focus on addressing economic and financial challenges".

Xinhua contributed to this story.