Overnight, I participated virtually in the Fourth G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held in Washington D.C., under the Presidency of Italy.
The G20 brings together the world’s major advanced and emerging economies representing 80 per cent of all global trade, and is the premier forum for international economic cooperation.
With COVID-19 still impacting countries around the world, I noted that the pandemic remains the largest risk to the global economic recovery with the G20 continuing to play a key role in supporting low income countries during the crisis.
As part of this effort, Australia announced that it will allocate approximately $481 million in new loan resources to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) supporting low-income countries, including Pacific Island countries.
With more than 95 per cent of the population of these low-income countries remaining unvaccinated, it’s vital that all members honour their commitments to ensuring equitable and effective global access to high quality vaccines.
G20 creditor nations also committed to continue to work towards addressing debt vulnerabilities and reiterated the importance of working towards debt transparency.
I joined the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in reaffirming our commitment to provide a pathway to sustainable debt for vulnerable low-income countries in the wake of COVID-19, and to help build a resilient and long-lasting recovery across the globe.
In addition, Australia welcomed the historic global tax agreement by 136 countries, including all G20 countries. This comes after years of negotiations to bring the international tax system into the 21st century. This agreement will help ensure multinationals pay their fair share of tax.
I reiterated Australia’s commitment to effective global action to respond to climate change and the importance of recognising that there are a wide range of policies that can help achieve our climate goals. Australia’s focus remains on investing heavily in emerging low emissions technologies, to help drive practical, scalable solutions that will assist Australia, and others, to reduce emissions.