G20 foreign ministers to discuss global crisis, recovery

The file photo dated February 16, 2022 shows officials walking near a banner for the G 20 finance ministers and central governors meeting during preparations in Jakarta. MAST IRHAM POOL AFP JAKARTA - The Group of 20 G 20 foreign ministers will gather in Indonesia's tourist island of Bali on Thursday and Friday to discuss the global crisis and recovery efforts.

According to a press statement released by the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry, this year's foreign ministers will hold two sessions.

The first session on strengthening multilateralism will focus on joint steps to increase global collaboration and build mutual trust among countries, which will become an enabling environment for world stability, peace, and development.

The second session on food and energy security will focus on strategic steps to overcome the food crisis, fertilizers shortage, rising global commodity prices and disruption of global supply chains.

Special guests that will be speaking at the forum include United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Executive Director of the UN World Food Programme David Beasley and World Bank Managing Director of Development Policy and Partnerships Mari Elka Pangestu.

Indonesian health minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that the G 20 expects to collect no less than 1.5 billion by the end of the year to build infrastructures to prevent and prepare for potential pandemics in the future.

The commitment to establish the Financial Intermediary Fund FIF was agreed upon by the health ministers of G 20 members, along with the World Health Organization WHO and the World Bank on June 20 to 21 in Indonesia's Yogyakarta.

The World Bank will be responsible for the implementation and allocation of the money, while the WHO will be responsible for the implementation and allocation of the money.

Sadikin developed a number of allocation plans for the fund, including building and improving access to emergency medical countermeasures, establishing a global network of genomic surveillance labs, and building global research and manufacturing hubs.

Sadikin said money will be used to produce emergency tools needed for timely and equitable responses to future epidemics, including vaccines, therapeutics, medicines, personal protective equipment, PPE and testing kits, which will be distributed to all countries once another pandemic strikes.