Finance Minister Nebati in Bali for G20 meeting

BALI

Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati is attending the gathering of G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Indonesia where they seek strategies to counter the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine, inflation and other global crises.

Nebati held a series of talks with his counterparts at the sidelines of the summit on July 15.
As part of his bilateral meetings, he discussed the bilateral economic and commercial relations with South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

“We emphasized the importance of increasing the trade volume between the two countries in the coming period, as well as improving our relations, especially in the industry and technology,” Nebati wrote on Twitter.

He also met with Mohamed Hadi Ahmed Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs of the United Arab Emirates.
“As the two important countries of the region, we emphasized the importance of mutual cooperation in bilateral and multilateral platforms. We stated that working in coordination both on a bilateral basis and in a regional context would contribute positively to the prosperity and stability of both our countries and our region,” the minister said.

Nebat, also had what he described as “a fruitful meeting with” Chrystia Freeland, Canada’s Finance Minister.

“Briefly, we emphasized the urgency of intensifying the cooperation between two long-standing allies, Türkiye and Canada, on both regional and international topics, as well as strengthening mutal commercial, political and economical ties between the two governments,” Nebati said.

‘Building bridges, not walls’

Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati opened the two-day meeting by urging fellow finance ministers, central bank chiefs and other leaders to find ways to “build bridges, not walls.’’

The consequences of failure, especially for less wealthy nations, would be “catastrophic,” she said. “Millions and millions if not billions of people are depending on us.”

In their closed door meetings, the financial leaders are searching for ways to coordinate how they shepherd their economies through inflation that is running at 40-year highs, unsnarling supply chains and bottlenecks due to the coronavirus pandemic and fortifying financial systems against future risks.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called for the G-20 to take action to fight food insecurity as millions go hungry due to soaring costs for food and other necessities. It is crucial, she said, to avoid stockpiling and export bans, to provide financial help to the needy and to ensure all organizations, such as development banks and food agencies, do their part to alleviate hunger.

This week’s meetings in Bali’s heavily guarded Nusa Dua resort town follow a gathering there of foreign ministers earlier this month that failed to find common ground over Russia’s war in Ukraine and its global impacts.