The UK at the G20 in Indonesia
Author: Ryan Baldry, Senior Communications Manager
The G20 Summit in Indonesia was always going to be challenging for the group. With a global financial crisis and war in Europe, there was a lot to discuss. The summit was complicated further with reports of a missile hitting a village in Poland, just off the Ukraine border.
At the Summit, the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak held bilateral meetings with key allies such as US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
One of the main themes of the Summit was the illegal and ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia. The Prime Minister focused a lot of his remarks on the conflict, the UK response and support for Ukraine as well as urging Russia to get out of Ukraine. During the closed-door meeting, he also blamed the war for the deteriorating global economic situation, stating that Russia’s “weaponisation” of energy and food is having detrimental effects on the world’s poorest.
His opening statement to the summit focused largely on highlighting British support for Ukraine in the face of attacks on their territorial integrity. He noted that the summit was an important platform for G20 partners to come together “to strengthen our international economic foundations, [and] make ambitious commitments to help the most vulnerable.”
Headlines from the Summit were:
The final statement, approved by all members of the bloc, declared that “most members” of the G20 strongly condemned the invasion, reflecting the fact that certain members, like China and India, have abstained from denouncing Russia’s invasion.
The draft also notes that the “G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues”, but members acknowledged that today’s era “must not be of war.”
One western official involved in negotiations disclosed that the document’s language “represents quite a diplomatic victory for us.”
The leaders’ declaration also pledged member support for building a resilient and sustainable food and agriculture system; creating sustainable jobs; developing digital skills and literacy; strengthening the Pandemic Fund hosted by the World Bank; and delivering on climate finance to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
“We are committed to taking urgent actions to save lives, prevent hunger and malnutrition, particularly to address the vulnerabilities of developing countries, and call for an accelerated transformation towards sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems and supply chains.” - G20 Bali leaders' declaration
The G20 Presidency has now been passed to India from 1st December who’s Presidency will focus on the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future.’
Cover image: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak / Twitter
