Chancellor speaks at the G20 meeting in RJ Márcio Batista/MRE February 21, 2024
Experts interviewed by the report point out that the outcome is positive for Brazil, which this week hosted the meeting of foreign ministers of the G20, a group that brings together the world's major economies, in Rio de Janeiro. The meeting took place on February 21 and 22 and was attended by 45 delegations, including several countries and international organizations.
According to Itamaraty, the Brazilian government had 17 bilateral meetings with the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, South Korea, France, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Turkey, African Union, Angola, Egypt, Norway and Portugal. The government also met with the United Nations. According to the ministry, the events took place at alternative times to the official meetings.
Secretary for Europe and North America at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Maria Luisa Escorel, argued about the relevance of such meetings. “Sometimes even more important things are discussed in bilateral discussions than in plenary sessions. These are great opportunities to discuss common interests, whether bilateral issues, regional issues or global issues. “These are occasions when the two agencies are closer to each other in a more private way where they feel more comfortable raising the most sensitive issues,” he said.
As host of the Agenda, Brazil does not make bilateral requests but receives requests through Itamaraty. Brazil's bilateral meetings were attended by Vieira and Brazil's chief negotiator at the G20 summit, Mauricio Lyrio.
The main topics relate to the forum's own agenda. Bilateral meetings last between thirty minutes and an hour, which is shorter due to the dynamic nature of foreign ministers' meetings. Country representatives have the opportunity to highlight which issues are of greatest importance to their countries and, for example, to promote interventions in the general sessions.
Maristela Basso, a law professor at the University of São Paulo (USP), explains that the G20's decisions, recommendations and agenda have global implications. Together, the countries are responsible for 85% of GDP (gross domestic product), more than 75% of trade and almost twothirds of the world's population. “Any agenda that is defined and included in the working agenda of the group will actually dictate the international agenda,” he said.
“The outcome of the meeting of foreign ministers is very positive, especially for Brazil, which has tried to put interesting issues on the international agenda, such as the reform of institutions and multilateral organizations. It is an issue that has been on the G20 agenda in previous years, but now it is moving onto the main agenda. And President Lula has defended this measure as a kind of spokesman for this agenda,” argues Maristela.
Rodrigo Amaral, professor of international relations at the PUCSP (Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo), also sees a positive outcome on the G20 agenda. “After Lula's speech about Israel, which he compared to the Holocaust, possible retaliation was expected, but no. The only aspect in this matter is the Brazilian president's relationship with Israel, which is an actor in the war,” he said.
“It is not so much a meeting aimed at further development, but rather at presenting the objectives of the Brazilian presidency at the head of the G20. What we can observe is that the foreign policy strategy is to position Brazil as the leader of the G20 of the global South and, beyond that, to advance the internal agenda on the international stage,” judges Amaral.
One of Brazil's intentions is to reform multilateral institutions such as the United Nations. For the PUCSP professor, an impracticability scenario exists. “If we look at the Security Council, for example, we have a tug of war with the United States on one side, Russia and China on the other. “So it will be a difficult step to change this and the Brazilian side is.” We are trying to involve as many international actors as possible to implement the measure.”
Ambassador Maria Luisa Escorel emphasized that the agendas identified as priorities by Brazil within the framework of the G20 Presidency represent a consensus among participants, with a focus on the issue of global governance reform. “Given the world's geopolitical situation and increasing and worsening conflicts, there is no alternative to reforming global governance, be it in the UN Security Council or financial organizations. “It is important to find solutions so that the international community is better prepared to deal with these sensitive issues that affect the whole world,” he explained.
Mauro Vieira holds a press conference Márcio Batista/MRE February 21, 2024
In his speech, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira defended the urgent need to reform global governance and the importance of concrete measures to build peace in conflict regions. “Several countries reiterated their condemnation of the war in Ukraine, as has been the case since the conflict began in 2022 and during the presidencies of Indonesia and India. A large number of countries from all regions expressed concern about this.” “We have escalated the conflict in Palestine and highlighted the risk of it spreading to neighboring countries. Several also called for the immediate release of the hostages held by Hamas,” Vieira said.
“In this context, there have been several calls for an immediate unblocking of humanitarian access in Palestine and for a cessation of hostilities. Many voiced their opposition to Israel's announced operation in Rafah and called on the Israeli government to reconsider and immediately suspend this decision. “In addition, there was virtual unanimity in favor of the twostate solution as the only possible solution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine,” he added.
Regarding the reform of global governance, the minister argued that in the main multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, everyone agrees on the need for this measure. Brazil's goal is to provide greater representation for developing countries and strengthen dispute resolution mechanisms.
On the agenda, Brazil presented the proposal to hold a second meeting of G20 foreign ministers, this time in September, at the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York, USA. “It will be the first time that the group will meet at the United Nations headquarters in a session open to all members of the organization to extend a call to action in favor of global governance reform,” Vieira said.
Authorities from the following countries took part in the G20 agenda in Rio de Janeiro: Brazil, India, South Africa, African Union, Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States of America. The list continues with the invited nations: Angola, Bolivia, Egypt, Nigeria, Norway, Paraguay, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay.
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