Coordinators of the Framework Working Group, Katie Gomes of the Ministry of Finance and Cintia Azevedo of the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB), during a press conference. | Photo: Audiovisual/G20 Brazil
The first G20 meeting of 2024, as well as the Framework and Women’s Empowerment Working Groups (WGs), have concluded. The technical meetings were held separately on Wednesday (17th) and Thursday (18th) morning by video conference based at the G20 Brazilian headquarters in Brasilia. The coordinators of each WG presented their work plan to the representatives and guests of the member states. They positively assessed the Brazilian proposal, provided new perspectives and indicated the goals of the activities to be carried out throughout the year.
These were the first two G20 multilateral consultations since the Sherpa and Finance Track meeting in Brasilia last December, when Brazil laid out its priorities for its 2024 presidency of the Forum. By February, all G20 working groups are expected to present their work plans and hold their first discussions.
According to Katie Gomes, coordinator of the Treasury Framework Working Group, this week’s meeting presented the first working proposals that put inequality at the center and also incorporate macroeconomic, just energy transition and capital mobilization for investment considerations in the transition to a sustainable planet.
“It was a constructive conference where all countries were involved and the issue of inequality was understood as a global issue. More than 20 countries and international organizations came together to think about how we can build an agenda to reduce inequality from different perspectives. This is a major achievement, it is mobilizing and has the potential to be transformative,” Katie said.
At a press conference, Katie Gomes and Cynthia Azevedo, working group coordinators from the Brazilian Central Bank (BCB), said the technical discussions will be input into a document to be presented to the Ministerial Conference in São Paulo in February. Gomes explained that one of the focuses of the working group in 2024 will be finding ways to translate member states’ concerns into objective economic policies.
“What we are thinking about is putting together a policy menu that can reflect different visions, concerns and ways of working on reducing inequality as a main input to finance ministers and central bank governors. It will be rich in content because it will be discussed multilaterally. So there is an opportunity to address the issue of inequality in a structured plan that will be discussed in a multilateral forum,” he revealed.
The Framework WG’s next technical meetings will be held in March, June and September of this year.
Ísis Táboas of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs serves as coordinator of the Women’s Empowerment Working Group.
At the end of the second day of the conference, the Group’s Coordinator, Ísis Táboas, shared trends and topics of this first moment, which focused on the presentation and initial discussions of the 2024 work plan.
The Coordinator assessed the videoconference positively, highlighting that this was a historic moment, as it was the Working Group’s first meeting at the G20. “The Brazilian Presidency proposed a set of deliverables and we were fortunate to have broad support from Member States that were very keen to build these deliverables and define priorities. We have very high expectations. This group has great potential to realise and advance women’s rights,” said Isis.
Moreover, the Working Group Coordinator, who also serves as Advisor to the Ministry of Women, stressed that a quorum had been reached, noting that over 100 foreign representatives were present during the two-day meeting, representing all Member States, guest countries and international organisations.
The central theme proposed by the Brazilian Coordinator to the Working Group on Women’s Empowerment was accepted by the other delegations, but there were only a few suggestions for adjusting the methodology and inserting new objectives within the broader thematic framework.One suggestion was for the international seminar on the implementation of good care policies planned by the Ministry of Women to include an axis dealing specifically with women’s economic independence.
The next meeting will be held on May 8th and 9th, also in Brasilia, but in person at the G20 headquarters.
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