Brazil will defend Russia’s permanence in the G20, a group that brings together the 20 largest economies on the planet, said today (18) the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carlos França. This stance is being adopted by the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, at the meetings of the G20, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank that take place in Washington this week.
“To the G20, we have already clearly expressed our position so that Russia could participate in the leaders’ summit. Russia’s exclusion does not address the real problem, which is conflict,” the minister told a news conference. alongside the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO)Nigerian Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Today, the United States announced that it intends to withdraw from G20 meetings in which diplomats and other members of the Russian government are present. Last Thursday (14), the Secretary of International Relations of the Ministry of Economy, Erivaldo Gomes, had said that Brazil intends to avoid “emotional attitudes” and avoid destroying the “diplomatic bridges” with any government during the war between Russia and Ukraine.
“Breaking communication channels, we see it as a way for you not to be able to discuss the problem and seek solutions. Regardless of who it is, we want communication channels to be working,” said the secretary of the Ministry of Economy last week.
From today (18) to Saturday (23), finance ministers and presidents of Central Banks meet in the North American capital. The Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, who participated virtually in the events in the last two years because of the covid-19 pandemic, is participating in person in the meetings of the IMF, the World Bank and the G20.
fertilizers
At today’s meeting with the director general of the WTO, in Brasília, minister Carlos França informed that Brazil asked for the organization’s interference against sanctions for fertilizers and agricultural inputs imported from Russia. According to the chancellor, the international organization must act to prevent the worsening of food imbalances across the planet, since Russia is one of the world’s main producers of chemical fertilizers.
According to Carlos França, it is necessary to maintain the free flow of raw materials for agriculture and prevent the interruption of food production chains. In addition to Russia, the sanctions cover imports from Belarus, another major producer of agricultural inputs.
Regarding the WTO’s request for interference, the director-general of the body promised that it will analyze the issue. “I will work on it and see what can be done,” said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. On her first trip to Latin America, she claimed to have asked Carlos França and President Jair Bolsonaro for Brazil to sell abroad part of the regulatory food stocks to regulate the supply of food in times of scarcity.
The Brazilian chancellor replied that Brazil seeks to expand its role in food security on the planet and said that the country’s agribusiness maintained exports even in the most critical moments of the covid-19 pandemic and did not stop selling abroad. “The contracts were kept and honored,” he pointed out.
