Consensus Document Dodges Israel/Gaza Conflict and Impacts

G20 finance ministers met on global economic growth, debt, inflation, expanding development bank aid, the pandemic and other crises. Meeting in Morocco during the Annual IMF and World Bank Meetings, the ministers reached agreement on a communique, which these ministers had failed to do since the beginning of the Ukraine war in February 2022.

“The ministers met as a gap grows between the poor and the wealthy and as some countries see modest growth and poor countries are worse off,” said Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network. “The G20 made important commitments to boost the lending and aid capacity of the World Bank and other development banks to support developing countries.”

Officials welcomed an experts group report they commissioned earlier this year to examine the additional capacity multilateral development banks need. The group's chairs are former US Secretary of Treasury Larry Summers and former chairperson of the Fifteenth Finance Commission of India Nand Kishore Singh. It estimates development banks together should ramp up finance and aid by $260 billion annually, as part of an annual $1 trillion external flows to finance climate and development in emerging and developing economies.

"The G20 needs to increase the resources for development banks so countries can emerge from crises and reach their development and climate goals," noted LeCompte. "What they agreed on only increases annual development bank funding by one-twentieth of what experts say is needed."

Inflation is easing in several countries but risks remain and core inflation is persistent, the G20 said.

“We need to stop raising interest rates. This flawed policy, to stop inflation, hurts all of us," shared LeCompte. "Raising interest rates spurs more debt crises in developing countries and makes food and fuel too expensive for us."

While the World Bank called for the Israel and Gaza conflict to deescalate, the document makes no mention of the events or its impacts on global economic activity.

“It appears the cost of reaching consensus language was to dodge the Israel and Gaza question altogether,” said LeCompte. “Beyond the tragic loss of life, global financial stability and the poor around the world will be dramatically affected."

Read Jubilee USA's statement on the Development Committee Communique here: https://www.jubileeusa.org/imf_wb_annual_meetings_dev_committee_2023?utm_campaign=g20_ministrel_oct_23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jubileeusa

Read Jubilee USA's press release on the Africa Catholic Bishops Annual Meetings statement here: https://www.jubileeusa.org/secam_press_release?utm_campaign=g20_ministrel_oct_23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jubileeusa

Read Jubilee USA's press release on the IMF World Economic Outlook report and the Global Financial Stability report here: https://www.jubileeusa.org/weo_gfsr_pr?utm_campaign=g20_ministrel_oct_23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jubileeusa

Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF Global Financial Stability report here: https://www.jubileeusa.org/global_financial_stability_report_statement?utm_campaign=g20_ministrel_oct_23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jubileeusa

Read Jubilee USA's statement on the IMF World Economic Outlook report here: https://www.jubileeusa.org/jubilee_usa_statement_on_imf_world_economic_outlook_report?utm_campaign=g20_ministrel_oct_23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jubileeusa

Read Jubilee USA's press release on Annual Meetings agenda here: https://www.jubileeusa.org/leaders_debt_growth_morocco?utm_campaign=g20_ministrel_oct_23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jubileeusa

Read Jubilee USA's press release on IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva's curtain raiser speech here: https://www.jubileeusa.org/imf_curtain_raiser_23?utm_campaign=g20_ministrel_oct_23&utm_medium=email&utm_source=jubileeusa

Jubilee USA Network is an alliance of more than 75 US organizations and 750 faith communities working with 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee USA builds an economy that serves, protects and promotes the participation of the most vulnerable. Jubilee USA wins critical global financial reforms and won more than $130 billion in debt relief to benefit the world's poorest people.

www.jubileeusa.org