Not quite a global government, the Group of Twenty summit is more than just another protocol event for world leaders. It can be described as a continuous process enabling countries with diverging and sometimes contradictory interests to find common ground and reach agreements on global economic development. Notwithstanding all the misgivings expressed by sceptics, the recent summit in Osaka once again proved just that. This was the gist of the discussions during a debate organized on July 3 by the Valdai Club with a number of prominent experts.
Speakers at the debate included G20 Representative of the President of the Russian Federation Svetlana Lukash, Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak and Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin, covering both the political and financial tracks of Russia’s involvement in G20. The speakers shared some insights on the summit, the mission of G20 and Russia’s goals within this framework.
In her remarks, Svetlana Lukash outlined G20’s two main objectives, the first of which consists of its function as a crisis manager. This year, the main challenges for the global economy include international trade issues, differences between China and the United States, as well as the reform of the WTO. The second objective is to anticipate future developments and stay ahead. This aspect has been increasingly important on the G20 agenda after the shockwaves of the 2008-2009 global crisis subsided.
The outcome of the Osaka Summit can be analyzed through the prism of these two objectives. The G20 countries agreed on the need to reform the WTO, Lukash pointed out. In fact, the participating states said that they were ready to take a proactive stance on the matter and devise methods to modernize this essential global governance institution. The trade war between the US and China was also high up on the agenda, with other G20 countries posing as mediators and seeking to convince the two sides that higher tariffs undermine the overall global economy.
In addition to this, G20 demonstrated its forward-looking potential. According to Lukash, the countries agreed on holding talks within the WTO framework on e-commerce, AI and digital security. To the credit of the Japanese presidency, environmental protection was also high up on the agenda this year, including efforts to reduce plastic waste in the oceans and the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement. Svetlana Lukash placed a special emphasis on the fact that members of the US delegation stressed their commitment to clean development goals in every possible way, although they pointed out that they were ready to act only at the national level. “This is a major step forward,” Lukash said.
G20 has proved its effectiveness in fostering positive change and cushioning negative developments, Alexander Pankin said, adding that the mood was quite grim in Osaka ahead of the summit against the backdrop of the trade war between the US and China. The summit helped reduce, to some extent, tension and send a positive signal to the markets. He went on to emphasize the fact that the leading countries have been able to focus on urgent matters, although no matter how prominent G20 is on the international stage, its resolutions apply only to its participating countries. “Most G20 declarations are non-binding. Still, the agreements between leaders are sacred, even if they only apply to them and not the entire world, since this is not the UN Security Council,” the deputy foreign minister said.
Experts at the Valdai Club event engaged in a lively debate prompted by a question from the audience on how Russia’s involvement in G20 corresponds with its national interests. Svetlana Lukash said that the G20 agenda was fully in line with Russia’s national priorities, including topics such as the digital economy, AI and the transition to cleaner energy. The G20’s financial agenda enabled Russia to fine-tune and strengthen its financial regulation and taxation systems. Moreover, the 12 national projects adopted in 2018 are consistent with the UN sustainable development goals and G20 goals for surmounting risks related to inequality. Sergei Storchak added that discussions within G20 were important because the leading countries had to “expose their national interests” and show where their economies are headed, which in turn provided them with an opportunity to take into consideration each other’s interests. “During the discussions we discover things we did not know before,” Alexander Pankin said to conclude the debate.
