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Delegates' Area
English
INFRASTRUCTURE
G20 Brasil delivers action agenda on infrastructure
The G20 Infrastructure Working Group concludes a series of discussions under Brasil's presidency, focusing on resilient projects, foreign exchange risk mitigation, and economic inclusion. The meeting in Rio de Janeiro also included debates on Africa, infrastructure, and development.
The G20 Infrastructure working group delivered the latest priorities discussed during Brasil's presidency of the forum in a meeting held this week in Rio de Janeiro. Representatives of member countries agreed on the following topics: the role of infrastructure in poverty reduction, the mitigation of foreign exchange risk for investments in the sector, and financing infrastructure in border regions. The first priority, resilient infrastructure funding, was already validated by member countries at the July ministerial meeting.
Marden Barboza, coordinator of the WG, explains that “throughout the year, we had four priorities discussed. In this meeting, we worked on three deliveries. The results were very positive, and the delegations welcomed the presented recommendations,” he said. According to Barboza, there is a consensus formed about these issues. "There are no divergences, only requests for formatting adjustments. We expect to take the reports to be validated at the ministerial meeting,” he adds.
According to Barboza, the great contribution of Brasil's presidency throughout 2024 was to start considering the provision of infrastructure from the requester's perspective. "It is no use having a transportation service if the person does not have the financial conditions to pay for the ticket," he exemplifies.
According to Barboza, the great contribution of Brasil's presidency throughout 2024 was to start considering the provision of infrastructure from the requester's perspective. "It is no use having a transportation service if the person does not have the financial conditions to pay for the ticket," he exemplifies.
The meeting also marks the end of the last round of the Finance Track WG meetings. After this cycle, there will still be the final meetings of Deputies, Finance Ministers, and Central Bank Presidents, which will take place during the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank this month.
Africa leads discussions at the forum
The last G20 Infrastructure WG meeting also featured a side event, the Africa Led debate on Infrastructure. Mariana Davi, one of the dialogue's organizers, explains that it is "a debate led by African delegations and experts, being an unprecedented initiative built during Brasil’s G20 Presidency."
Davi refers to two moments. In February, during the meeting of G20 finance ministers in São Paulo, there was a meeting between African ministers. In June, during the meeting of the International Financial Architecture (IFA) group, the first edition of the debate led by Africa on national debts took place.
“We will hear from delegates and academics about the challenges and obstacles to infrastructure financing on the African continent, especially the need for investments to tackle poverty and inequality. We hope that this will be a legacy that will continue during South Africa's presidency, strengthening the leading role of African countries,” he said.
Translated by PGET-UFSC