G20 in India: Massa calls for deep reform of financial system in face of crisis over war in Ukraine and climate change.

(Special Envoy to India, Bengaluru) Sergio Massa used the first session of the G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs exactly one year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine heightened global tensions between the United States and China. Implement a critical critique of the global system protects that Current status and economic inequality between rich countries and poor and middle-income states.

The Nidhi Palace leader delivered his speech as Argentina slept and temperatures hovered close to 30 degrees on the streets of Bengaluru. You will find the US Treasury Secretary at the Hilton Hotel’s conference center. Janet YellenTo the Vice Minister of Finance of China, Wang Dongwei, To the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina GeorgievaTo the President of the World Bank, David MalpassTo the German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, To the Minister of Economy of France, Bruno Le MaireTo the Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman and Brazil’s Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad.

“Global economic conditions are particularly challenging, Marked by the tightening of international financial conditions, Against a backdrop of rising credit exposures and limited fiscal space. These conditions do not affect recovery in the short term. Instead, they undermine countries’ ability to achieve long-term development goals. Massa maintained a clear political message to the US, Germany, France and the IMF.

These global power factors demand compliance with the goals established in Argentina Agreement Expanded facilities It represents a debt of 44,000 million dollars, but in practice they have not yet revealed a road map that will allow them to respect financial regulations without encouraging a radical adjustment of spending and public investment.

With the tacit approval of Joseph Biden, Olaf Scholes and Emmanuel Macron, the fund’s board resists cutting surcharges and maintains lending rates at levels inconsistent with its multilateral essence as a lender of last resort. Massa, in his seven-minute speech, said the institutional conflict must end soon.

From this point of view, the president of the Palacio de Hacienda pointed out that “the existing asymmetry in financial conditions between developing and advanced economies, in terms of public and private finance, Interest rates and interest rate tightening in many advanced economies have worsened.

Massa knows that the need to adjust the rate policy of the International Monetary Fund has already been raised at the G20 in Rome and Bali – at the request of Argentina. That is why it is not surprising that at this G20 summit the Minister of Economy insisted on a position opposed by the Board, supported by the creditor countries and giving orders to Kristalina Georgieva.

“In the context that we are discussing several ways to increase the financial capacity, I do not want to forget to recall a mandate that Argentina has repeatedly raised in this area. And this is the request for additional fees and charges of the monetary fund. This is a regressive policy, because it falls on countries with the greatest financial needs; Bi-cyclical because it hinders economic recovery, and opaque, because countries rarely know they have to pay extra”.

The US, Germany and France used the G20 summit in Bengaluru to condemn Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and to warn China that it could face financial and economic sanctions if it supports the illegal war waged by Vladimir Putin with weapons and intelligence.

The conflict in Ukraine occupied the attention of the central countries. But there was also time to deal with the impacts of climate change on the global scene. Powerful countries are demanding that poor and middle-income countries adapt their production structures to the norms of the Paris Agreement, a necessary objective that is causing unexpected tensions around the planet.

Without funding from the US, Europe, Japan, Canada, the IMF and the World Bank, the demands associated with climate change targets from developing countries would mean greater poverty and global inequality. For example: For the South, adjusting its productive apparatus to the demands of the North, In the medium term – gas and oil reserves will become unusable.

So, for Argentina, there will be a strange paradox: Vaca Muerta is key to reducing fiscal deficits and boosting central bank reserves by selling surpluses to a Europe stricken by Putin’s energy blockade.

But in this context, according to the norms of Europe and America, Argentina should forget gas and bet on hydrogen. Production is still not possible due to lack of investments provided by credit institutions and the central government.

“The climate challenges we face respond to countries’ different scales and moments of development. In this chart there are countries rich in economic and financial resources and on the other hand countries rich in environmental resources. Our country is a financial debtor, but in this framework it is also an environmental debtor,” Massa recalled in his speech.

And he concluded: “Those who have done the damage must mitigate because our nations must only adapt to this climate change.”

After his speech at the Bengaluru summit, Massa held official meetings with the finance ministers of Italy, Germany, France and Brazil to deepen bilateral relations and analyze the international agenda, while Palacio received key information on the negotiation of the Treasury’s technical work. Closing with IMF staff in Washington.

If the Fund finally approves the agreed targets in the fourth quarter of 2023, Massa and Kristalina Georgieva will make an official announcement tomorrow After their meeting at the Hilton Hotel’s conference center. The meeting is scheduled here at 6:00 pm (7:30 am in Argentina).

Later, the Economy Minister will return to Buenos Aires.