G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting

The G20 Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting was held in Sorrento, Italy, on October 12. The meeting was headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy, Luigi Di Maio. WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and  ministers and deputy ministers from the EU, from other G20 countries and from guest countries took part in the meeting. The Brazilian delegation was headed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Secretary for Economic Affairs and Foreign Trade, Ambassador Sarquis J. B. Sarquis, and included the Secretary for Foreign Trade of the Ministry of the Economy, Lucas Ferraz. 

Authorities adopted the joint declaration, which is founded upon six main themes: (i) reform of the WTO; (ii) trade and health; (iii) services and investments;  (iv) subsidies; (v) trade and environmental sustainability; (vi) and  micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. The statement will be submitted to leaders of the member countries for consideration at the G20 Summit, scheduled for October 30-31, in Rome.

On the sidelines of the Sorrento ministerial meeting, the Brazilian delegation held bilateral meetings with the WTO Director General, with ministers and deputy ministers of Argentina, Australia, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, the European Union,  and with representatives from the OECD and the World Bank. The Brazilian delegation participated in an informal meeting of Ministers and Deputy Ministers in preparation  for the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference,  to take place in Geneva, from November 30 to December 3, 2021.

The G20 Ministerial Statement on Trade and Investment is available at https://www.esteri.it/mae/resource/doc/2021/10/g20_timm_statement.pdf.