Jakarta, Indonesia –
Foreign ministers from the Group of 20 major rich and developing nations meet on the Indonesian resort island of Bali for talks dominated by the conflict in Ukraine despite an agenda focused on global cooperation and security food and energy.
The one-day meeting will take place on Friday on the mostly Hindu “island of the gods” in the mostly Muslim archipelago nation.
Underscoring the backdrop of tensions hanging over the meeting, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov stopped in several Asian capitals on their way to Bali, rallying support and strengthening its ties in the region ahead of the talks.
The United States and its allies have tried to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin in as many ways as possible, including threatening to boycott the G-20 summit in Bali in November unless Putin is removed from the forum.
So, as this year’s G20 chair, Indonesia has been forced to play a more constructive role on the world stage rather than simply acting as an “event organizer”. The country has tried to remain neutral in dealing with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and President Joko Widodo has been cautious in his comments.
Widodo was the first Asian leader to visit countries at war. Ukraine is not a member of the G-20, but Widodo invited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the November summit along with Putin, hoping to appease all sides and limit any distractions from the forum’s agenda.
Zelenskyy has said he will not attend if the war continues and has chosen to follow the discussions by video link. Widodo reportedly told Italian Prime Minister Marion Draghi on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Germany that Putin will not attend either. Moscow has said no decision has yet been made.
That apparent compromise may be tested when G20 foreign ministers meet in Bali’s heavily guarded tourist haven Nusa Dua to lay the groundwork for the 17th summit of the West’s economic powers.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing are also evident: On Wednesday, China launched a scathing attack on the US and NATO, just days before US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Foreign Minister Chinese Foreign Ministers meet in Bali.
Washington “observes international rules only when it sees fit,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing. He said that “the so-called rules-based international order is actually a family rule created by a handful of countries to serve America’s self-interest.”
A key goal of the talks will be to seek ways to improve food security at a time when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has choked world markets, driving up prices for meat, dairy products, grains, sugar and oils. vegetables.
“These visits are not only important for Indonesians but also for other developing countries to prevent people from developing and low-income countries from falling into extreme poverty and hunger,” Widodo told reporters in Jakarta before his Departure for Germany on June 26. .
Russia and Ukraine account for a third of world wheat exports and Ukraine alone produces enough grain to feed 400 million people. But Moscow’s blockade means Kyiv can only move 2m tonnes a month, 60% less than usual.
Millions of tons of Ukrainian grain are sitting in silos waiting to be shipped through safe corridors in the Black Sea. Ukraine is also one of the world’s largest exporters of corn and sunflower oil, but Russia’s invasion stopped most of that flow. Such disruptions threaten the food supply for many developing countries, especially in Africa.
The crisis is having inflationary effects in Indonesia, including a flour shortage that is forcing local companies to raise the politically sensitive price of instant noodles, a popular Indonesian staple.
Russia has promised to increase its wheat exports to Indonesia. Last year, they amounted to only 2,955 tons compared to the 3 million tons imported from Ukraine.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told reporters that it is important to achieve the resumption of Ukraine’s grain exports and Russia’s food and fertilizer exports to end shortages and reduce prices.
Rising cooking oil costs prompted Indonesia, beset by student protests over skyrocketing food prices, to temporarily ban exports of palm oil products. Exports of crude palm oil, used in a wide variety of foods, cosmetics and other products, resumed a month later.
Indonesia and neighboring Malaysia are the world’s largest palm oil exporters, accounting for 85% of global production.
The foreign ministers who headed to Bali on Thursday hail from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, United States and the European Union.
Blinken is scheduled to meet with Wang, Beijing’s top envoy, on Saturday. The meeting will be the last high-level contact between US and Chinese officials as Washington has questioned China’s stance after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The two sides could also discuss a possible lifting of US tariffs on imports from China by the administration of President Joe Biden in its fight to counter inflation.
During his stay in Bali, Lavrov will meet with his counterparts from other countries, including China, Mexico, South Africa and Brazil, on the sidelines of the G-20 foreign ministers. He also plans consultations with invited leaders of international organizations, according to the Russian embassy in Jakarta.
The members of the G-20 represent about 80% of world economic output, two-thirds of the world’s population, and about three-quarters of world trade.
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