JAKARTA – Indonesia on Friday (July 15) urged finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of 20 largest economies (G-20) meeting in Bali to step up efforts to address the current global economic challenges worsened by Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Seeking a consensus on collective action in her opening remarks to the two-day meeting, Indonesia Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati called for tangible progress in tackling the “triple threat” of surging commodity prices, global inflation and war.

“We are acutely aware that the cost of our failure to work together is more than what we can afford. The humanitarian consequences for the world, and especially for many low-income countries, would be catastrophic,” she said.

Dr Sri Mulyani noted about 60 per cent of lower-income countries are in or near debt distress, while dozens of developing countries are unlikely to meet debt repayments over the next year.

Acknowledging the high expectations being placed on the meeting, where talks can sidestep politics in favour of realistic and technical discussions on issues that matter, she described Indonesia’s role as an “honest broker” and promised to consult all members of the group without discriminating.

Indonesia has sought a balance of interest among the group, divided by the Ukraine war amid mounting economic pressures from rising inflation.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has overshadowed previous G-20 meetings, including last week’s gathering of foreign ministers, which did not produce a communique at its conclusion.

French and German officials have expressed scepticism that the ongoing meeting in Nusa Dua, Bali, can reach a common ground, given the tensions over Ukraine.

But Dr Sri Mulyani stressed Indonesia’s intention to achieve a result that can be “communicated clearly to all outside stakeholders” as the group seeks to tackle the worsening global crisis.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who is attending the meeting in person, condemned Russia’s “brutal and unjust war” in Ukraine in the opening session and noted that Russian representatives participating in the gathering shared responsibilities for the “horrific consequences” of the war.

She welcomed Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, and blamed the negative spillover of the war “solely” on Russia, Reuters reported.

Russian Deputy Finance Minister Timur Maksimov is in Bali for the meetings, while the finance minister of Ukraine, though not a member of the G-20, is expected to address one of the sessions virtually.

Singapore is among a few other non-member countries invited, with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong in Bali for the meeting.

No official walked out as Mr Maksimov was addressing the meeting, according to Reuters, in contrast with the meeting of G-20 foreign ministers last week, where Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov walked out of a session.

At another session on food, Dr Yellen blamed Russia’s war against Ukraine as the culprit behind a global crisis of food insecurity marked by spikes in food, fertiliser and fuel prices, and said Russia’s blockade of Black Sea ports was using food as a “weapon of war”.

She called on G-20 members to avoid counterproductive policy responses such as restricting exports and stockpiling, which can distort the market and further increase prices.

“The speed and wisdom of our decisions now will make the difference on how we get the crisis under control. The G-20 must work together to tackle these challenges and protect vulnerable families from the threat of hunger today and tomorrow,” she said.

Addressing the session virtually, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed also called for unrestricted trade, saying: “We must urgently reduce pressure on the market by increasing the supply of and access to affordable food and fertilisers, and there should be no restrictions in exports.”

She noted that there have been “some encouraging developments” in reintegrating Ukraine’s food exports with global markets, and said work is ongoing as well for Russia’s food and fertiliser exports.

(Inputs from Straits Times)