(Finance) – Al New Delhi summit the main obstacle in the concluding statement Ukraine remains, given the resistance of Beijing and obviously Moscow, represented at the summit respectively by Prime Minister Li Qiang and Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov. Precisely the surprising absence of Chinese President Xi Jinping and the obvious one of head of the Kremlin Vladimir Putin have strengthened fears that Beijing and Moscow are aiming to boycott a compromise acceptable to all. “Almost everything has been done, only the only disagreements remain on the war in Ukraine”, said Italian diplomatic sources on the eve of the G20. Most countries, it is explained, have set themselves the goal of mentioning Russian aggression and the Indian presidency also agrees, but there is a hardening of Russia, greatly supported by China. An agreement of 20 is being sought, as an alternative to “19+1” or at least “18+2”: in these cases, it would be a step backwards compared to the consensus of 20 a year ago in Bali.
Meanwhile China, Russia and the war in Ukraine are completely absent from US-India joint statement announced at the end of the meeting between Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the 29 points of the note, in fact, it ranges from the UN to the Indo-Pacific to technological and climate cooperation but the topics of the day and of the G20 are not mentioned.
The most destabilizing factor remains Moscow’s aggression against Kiev which “has increased food and energy prices and we are aware of the risks for global growth – said the US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen – the most important thing we could do for global growth is for Russia to end its brutal war against Ukraine.” As for China, Yellen, meeting the media in New Delhi, noted that “there is a slowdown of the economy” which “requires adjustment policies. We are monitoring – she underlined – but I don’t see any significant effects on the US.”
Today in New Delhi Yellen met with the economy minister, Giancarlo Giorgetti. “In the long and constructive discussion – reports the Mef – Giorgetti underlined how the G20 can continue to be a promising way to provide greater support to the poorest countries”. A conversation – underlines the Ministry – “very cordial and friendly” in which Giorgetti “illustrated the Italian agenda of the G7 for 2024, reiterating that ever greater resources must be used primarily for the African countries most affected by drought and the consequences of the war in Ukraine”. Giorgetti, who usually sees Yellen separately at each G20 for an exchange of ideas, reiterated that “in an increasingly fragmented world, cooperation between friends is crucial”. Furthermore, it will be “crucial – underlines the Mef – to manage the project of global minimum taxation (the so-called two pillars, the other is the common definition of extra taxation in the countries where the companies operate most) which are encountering implementation difficulties”. Giorgetti also focused on the Italian economic situation, on the sharing of aid to Ukraine attacked by Russia (one of the central themes of every G20).
Yellen – let it be known US Treasury Department – “expressed the United States’ support for an equi-proportional increase in the quotas of the International Monetary Fund and encouraged Italian collaboration to increase the subsidized financing capacity of the World Bank. The Secretary of the Treasury – we read in the press note – has asked for information on Italy’s economic prospects.