 "World Bank needs headroom to help low-income countries, says G20")
The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, under India's presidency, released a joint communiqué on Friday in the Moroccan city of Marrakech, calling for collectively mobilising more headroom and concessional finance to boost the World Bank's capacity to support low- and middle-income countries in meeting global challenges, and adopting the roadmap proposed in the Synthesis Paper as a G20 Roadmap on Crypto Assets.
Addressing a press conference, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the members appreciated the work of the Independent Expert Group on MDB reforms (IEG) and welcomed the report. “Language with which reforms are being talked about IEG has found a comfortable place in every narrative involving multilateral development bank (MDBs) and their systemic reforms to make them better, bigger, and more efficient,” she said.
The communiqué -- the first under the Finance track during India’s G20 presidency — welcomed the G20 Independent Expert Group's report on strengthening MDBs, stating that transformative changes are required in MDBs' vision, operating models, and financing capacities.
“In the spirit of #OneEarthOneFamilyOneFuture and following full consensus by the #G20 members, the fourth #G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Communiqué was adopted today in #Marrakech, Morocco,” the finance ministry said in a post on X. “Going forward, we call on the International Financial Architecture Working Group to deliberate on the IEG recommendations in consultation with MDBs and suggest a way forward for better, bigger, and more effective MDBs, including ways to work together better as a system, in our meeting in April 2024.”
Regarding MDBs, the communiqué called for consideration of three building blocks: Private capital mobilisation, strengthening their financial capacity, including through implementation of capital adequacy framework recommendations and capital increase, and urging MDBs to work together as a system.
A press note said that the FMCBG communiqué draws guidance from the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration and benefited significantly from the consensus that was reached at the Leaders’ Summit.
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On sustainable finance, Sitharaman said: "To achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030, we have developed recommendations for mobilising finance for climate action and Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, we are pleased to introduce an implementation mechanism for the G20 Sustainable Finance Technical Assistance Action Plan."
The FMCBG has also endorsed the G20/World Bank report on Enablers of Inclusive Cities: Enhancing Access to Services and Opportunities which analyses how inclusivity varies across cities globally and presents a policy compass for various stakeholders to better plan, connect, and finance the delivery of urban infrastructure services.
About the Russia-Ukraine war, the communiqué acknowledged that while the G20 is not the platform to resolve geopolitical and security issues, these issues can have significant consequences for the global economy. “Today’s era must not be a war," it said.
The finance minister talked about how the recent crisis in West Asia is a worry that many countries hold. Three concerns for the near future, the FM said, were the impact of fuel prices on food security, inflation, and fragmentation of supply chains.
The G20 Presidency will be passed on to Brazil at the end of one year of the Indian presidency. “The FMCBGs looked forward to continuing work on enhancing global economic cooperation to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth,” Sitharaman said.
Over 370 delegates, including finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 member countries, invitee countries, and heads of various international organisations participated in the meeting.