IRIA News

Leaders and representatives from the Group of 20 (G20) wealthiest nations arrived in Bali, Indonesia, to participate in the G20 Leaders’ Summit 2022. The two-day-long event was held on November 15-16, 2022.

The focus of the G20 meeting remained on several burning issues ranging from global security to climate change and post-pandemic economic recovery. Leaders from the G20 group and observer states held the grand summit on November 16, 2022. There were also important one-on-one meetings between the leaders on the sidelines of the summit.

Here are some major highlights and key takeaways from the G20 Summit 2022:

Russia-Ukraine War

The summit opened on November 15, 2022, without attendance from Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov represented Russia at the G20 summit as the Kremlin said that President Putin was too busy to attend the summit.

Meetings of G20 ministers earlier this year ended without joint declarations due to opposition that the G20 member state of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. However, this week, leaders of G20, excluding Russia, adopted a declaration denouncing Russia’s aggression in Ukraine “in the strongest terms” and demanded its unconditional withdrawal. The declaration also highlighted that while most of the G20 member states condemned the war in Ukraine, “there were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions” by some members within the group.

“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy, constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks,” the leaders’ declaration said. Lavrov said the declaration had been “politicized” by Ukraine’s Western allies.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy joined the summit via video link and delivered his speech. Zelenskyy snubbed Russia from the G20 bloc and called on the “G19” world leaders to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.  Zelensky also pleaded for an extension of a Ukrainian grain export deal due to expire soon.

In his speech, President Zelensky said: “I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped.” He highlighted several strategies that world leaders could use to end the hostilities in Ukraine and prevent the escalation of the war. He repeatedly addressed the leaders as the “G19”, excluding Russia.

U.S.-China bilateral meeting

President of the United States Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met for the first time in a bilateral meeting since Biden became president. The two leaders discussed a wide array of issues related to the U.S.-China bilateral relations as well as Taiwan and Ukraine. The meeting is being termed as an effort to cool down the increasing tensions between the two countries especially related to the Taiwan issue.

The U.S. President held a news conference after attending the meeting. He said that the U.S. would have no choice but to enhance its security position in Asia if Beijing is unable to control North Korea’s weapons development programs threatening the U.S. and its allies.

China’s President Xi Jinping also released a statement after the meeting through the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs. The statement underscored the importance of the Taiwan issue for a stable U.S.-China relationship. It said that during the meeting, President Xi “stressed that the Taiwan question is at the very core of China’s core interests, the bedrock of the political foundation of China-U.S. relations” he said that it is the “first red line that must not be crossed in China-U.S. relations. Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese and China’s internal affair. It is the common aspiration of the Chinese people and nation to realize national reunification and safeguard territorial integrity.”

Post-pandemic economic recovery

Leaders and representatives of the G20 bloc unanimously released a declaration regarding the global economic situation and its recovery, especially after the post-pandemic economic slump. The declaration states that all G20 nations are carefully evaluating the effects of rising interest rates in order to avoid spillovers and warned of “increased volatility” in currency moves. All participants agreed to support the smaller economies in their recovery from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Climate Change

G20 leaders agreed to pursue efforts to limit the global temperature increase and mitigate the effects of climate change. All the leaders agreed upon standing together by the temperature goal from the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change.

Last week, more than 100 world leaders also met in Egypt for the UN’s annual climate change summit COP27 to discuss pressing climate challenges ranging from climate reparations and adaptation to cutting harmful greenhouse gas emissions.