GANDHINAGAR, INDIA (Reuters) – Debt restructuring talks made little progress at the third meeting of G20 finance ministers in India as the bloc failed to bridge its major differences and the low turnout due to domestic issues.
Finance ministers from G20 countries have met in the western Indian state of Gujarat, hoping to secure agreements on debt restructuring for vulnerable countries, minimum tax world and multilateral development bank (MDB) reforms.
“We are not making much progress on the issue of debt restructuring,” a senior official who attended the meeting told Reuters on Monday.
Last month, Zambia reached an agreement to restructure $6.3 billion (5.61 billion euros) in debt to foreign governments, which was seen as a breakthrough for indebted countries around the world who had to face lengthy negotiations with their creditors.
However, G20 countries have not agreed to use Zambia as a model for further restructuring and most have remained reluctant to provide new loans to vulnerable countries, while many G20 member countries G20 are facing economic difficulties in their own countries, the official said.
Ministers from many countries opted out of the meeting, which contributed to slow progress on the issue, a second official said, adding that 13 finance ministers attended the event. The United States sent the largest delegation, led by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
Officials said several finance ministers had been forced out of the meetings due to “priority” domestic issues.
Finance ministers from Japan, Australia, Canada, Indonesia, South Korea, Indonesia, South Africa, as well as the United States and India were present.
Argentina, Brazil, France and Mexico sent only lower-ranking officials, people familiar with the matter added.
German and British ministers did not attend the meeting. However, the head of the German central bank, Joachim Nagel, was present.
The two-day meetings that started on Monday are seen as key to setting the tone for September’s G20 leaders’ summit in New Delhi.
(Reporting Sarita Chaganti Singh and Shivangi Acharya, with contributions from Aftab Ahmed; Lina Golovnya)
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