G 20 Summit
Current situation:
- The most recent G-20 meeting will last two days and be held in Bali, Indonesia. Twenty of the world’s largest industrialised and developing economies will be represented, and their heads of state and government will meet to debate the global agenda.
- The 17th annual summit will be the culmination of various ministerial gatherings and working groups that spent the previous year focusing on important priority issues.
- India, represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will lead the G20 after the conference. The 18th summit would take place in India the following year.
What subjects are going to be discussed at the summit in 2022?
- Three main objectives will guide the Bali summit.
- The global health architecture addresses the issue of enhancing global health resilience and enhancing the system’s capability for accessibility, equity, and crisis response.
- Discussions in this area have focused on developing a new framework for international cooperation in order to fully realise the potential of the world economy’s increasing digitalization.
- The primary discussion point in this area has been how to speed up the switch to greener energy sources. Use sustainable energy instead The emphasis has been on building a platform for such investments because any such move would require a significant amount of resources.
What else could be at risk?
- The prospects for the global economy have gotten worse since the Rome summit in 2021. Together, the G20 nations are responsible for 60% of the world’s population, 80% of its GDP, and 75% of its exports. They thereby restrain the forces that support global expansion.
- The figure from a recent IMF analysis on the G20 countries, however, illustrates how the majority of the G20 member countries have experienced considerable output losses since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak.
- For example, India would have lost the most productivity among the G20 nations—nearly 14% of its overall output.
Why has the circumstance deteriorated?
- Several problems contribute to the significant setback to the global economy and the promise of globalisation.
- Geopolitical unpredictability and global inflation have both dramatically risen, beginning with the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which has been made worse by supply limitations and price controls on a range of items.
- The simultaneous Western sanctions have made the situation worse. High levels of inflation have decreased purchasing power and hampered economic growth in numerous nations.
- Two: In an effort to combat high inflation, which has further hampered economic growth, central banks around the world have hiked interest rates.
- It’s anticipated that some of the major economies, like those in the US and the UK, will go into recession, while others, including those in the euro zone, will come to a near full halt.
- Three: As it battles a real estate crisis, China, one of the major drivers of the global economy, is experiencing a devastating downturn.
- The international economy is also facing problems from geopolitical tensions like those between the US and China, the two largest economies in the world, or the drop in trade between the UK and the euro area as a result of the Brexit vote.
Moving forward:
- Better global prospects will undoubtedly result from two factors.
- One, by working together, the G20 nations can develop more quickly.
- Second, for such growth to occur, peace is necessary.
- The summit offers a chance for the leaders to find areas of agreement and smooth out any kinks in the political system given the size of the G20 countries.
- Most economies’ policymakers should work to preserve price stability while reducing debt and safeguarding the most vulnerable citizens.
- So, the first task at hand is to limit the unchecked inflation. Governments must, however, develop measures to assist the weak without necessarily escalating debt levels. The need to regularly monitor external hazards would be a key issue with this strategy.
- The G-20 must coordinate its actions in order to build a robust, long-lasting, equitable, and inclusive recovery.
- In turn, this type of cooperative participation requires “helping prevent future collapse” in addition to maintaining peace in Ukraine.
- The leaders of the G20 must encourage “more open, stable, and transparent rules-based commerce” to alleviate the current global goods scarcity. Global value networks may grow more resistant to impending shocks as a result.
Last but not least, international action is necessary on issues like the environment, debt, taxes, and pandemic preparedness if the global economy is to thrive sustainably.
