Speech by President Lula at the closing of the G20 Summit

Well, first of all, I would like to say to the authorities who are here, your highnesses, presidents, and prime ministers, that nature continues to demonstrate that we must take much greater care of it.

This week, three days ago, in Brazil, a cyclone hit the state of Rio Grande do Sul – there had never been a cyclone there before –, killed 46 people and almost 50 are missing. Similar phenomena have been occurring in different places across our planet.

I would like to congratulate Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the effective management of the G20 presidency by India, for the excellent work in preparing this Summit, and for the affection that has been shown to all of us, guests, over the days we have spent here.

I thank India for highlighting topics that are of interest to emerging countries. Therefore, I want to express my solidarity to our dear companion, the representative of the African Union, who is now part of the G20.

15 years ago, this group established itself as one of the world’s main global governance bodies in the wake of a crisis that shook the global economy.

Our joint action allowed us to face the most critical moments, but it was insufficient to correct the structural flaws of neoliberalism.

The global financial architecture has changed very little, and the foundations of new economic governance have not been laid.

New emergencies emerged. Challenges accumulated and became worse.

We are living in a world where wealth is concentrated.

In which millions of people still go hungry.

In which sustainable development is always threatened.

In which governance institutions still reflect the reality of the middle of the last century.

We will only be able to tackle all these problems if we address inequality.

Income inequality; inequality in access to healthcare, education and food; gender, race and representation inequality is behind all these anomalies.

If we want to make a difference, we must place the reduction of inequalities at the center of the international agenda.

Thus, Brazil’s G20 presidency will have three priorities:

(i) social inclusion and the fight against hunger
(ii) energy transition and sustainable development in its three aspects (social, economic and environmental) and
(iii) reform of global governance institutions

All these priorities are contained in Brazil’s G20 presidency motto: “Building a fair world and a sustainable planet.”

Two task forces will be created: the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, and the Global Mobilization against Climate Change.

We must redouble our efforts to achieve the goal of ending world hunger by 2030, otherwise we will face the biggest multilateral failure in recent years.

Combating climate change requires political will and determination from governments, as well as resources and technology transfer.

We want greater representation for emerging countries in World Bank and International Monetary Fund decisions.

We must address the poorest countries’ unsustainable external debt.

The WTO must be revitalized and its dispute settlement system must function again.

To regain its political strength, the UN Security Council must count on the presence of new developing countries among its permanent and non-permanent members.

The international community is hopeful, because we have brought together economies from emerging and developed countries in the G20.

We represent 80% of the global GDP; 75% of all exports; and around 60% of the world’s population.

To ensure that the G20 acts in an inclusive and coherent way, Brazil intends to organize its work around three general guidelines:

Firstly, we will ensure that the political and financial tracks are coordinated and work alongside each other. There’s no point in agreeing on the best public policies if we don’t allocate necessary resources for their implementation.

Secondly, we must listen to society. There are no governments without society. Brazil's presidency will ensure that engagement groups have the opportunity to report their conclusions and recommendations to government representatives.

Thirdly, we cannot allow geopolitical issues to hijack G20 bodies’ discussion agendas. A divided G20 does not interest us. We can only tackle present day challenges through joint action.

We need peace and cooperation instead of conflict.

The path that will take us from New Delhi to Rio de Janeiro will require a lot of dedication and commitment from everyone.

Technical groups and preparatory ministerial meetings will be hosted by several cities across all five regions of our country.

Therefore, we will welcome G20 members with open arms – and we truly need everyone’s support, including the experience of this successful summit held in our beloved India.

I will be honored to welcome you all to the Rio de Janeiro Summit in November 2024 – and I want to thank President Modi and the Indian people for their competent organization of this event.

I also want to say, President Modi, that I personally feel very emotional when taking part in a tribute to our dear Gandhi. Everyone knows that Mahatma Gandhi has great meaning in my political life, because the fight for non-violence is an example that I followed for many decades when I was in the trade union movement. So I was very moved, and I want to thank you for this opportunity to pay tribute to Gandhi – and I want to tell you all that Brazil will take over the G20 and will make a great effort to do at least as much as our colleagues from India have done.

Thank you very much.