New Delhi, Feb 13 (UNI) Finance Ministers and central bank governors of G7 countries discussed helping pandemic-hit economies toward a recovery, with the United States signalling its return to multilateralism after four years of "America First" policy.
It was the first ministerial meeting of UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan, and the European Union -- under UK's presidency in 2021.
Chancellor of Exchequer Rishi Sunak, chairing the virtual meeting on Friday, urged the G7 to take the lead in shaping support for vulnerable countries in 2021, and make climate and nature considerations a central priority for this year’s Finance Agenda, paving the way to a truly green global economic recovery.
Making progress on reaching an international solution to the tax challenges of the digital economy was noted as a key priority.
Sunak underlined our commitment to this issue, and called on the G7 to work together towards reaching an enduring multilateral solution by the mid-2021 deadline agreed by the G20.
To this end the chancellor pointed to the need for constructive joint work across the G7, G20 and OECD, a UK government statement said.
US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen emphasized the commitment of the Biden Administration to multilateralism to solve global issues, stating that the US “places a high priority on deepening our international engagement and strengthening our alliances.”
Yellen also stressed the importance of providing further fiscal support to promote a robust and lasting recovery, a Treasury Department readout said.
She stressed that “the time to go big is now” and that the G7 should be focused on what more it can do to provide support at this time.
She expressed strong support for G7 efforts to tackle climate change, highlighting that her colleagues should expect the Treasury Department’s engagement on this issue to change dramatically relative to the last four years.
“We understand the crucial role that the United States must play in the global climate effort.”
UNI SRJ SHK1828