President Lula establishes National G20 Committee

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva established the country’s National G20 Committee this Thursday morning (November 23). The G20 brings together the world’s 20 largest economies. The ceremony at Planalto Palace in Brasília was attended by the presidents of Brazil’s Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados) Arthur Lira; Supreme Federal Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal/STF), Roberto Barroso; Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto; and other ministers and authorities.

» High-resolution photos (Flickr)

It is no longer humanly possible to explain how the world can be so rich — that so much money crosses the Atlantic Ocean — and still so many people can be going hungry”

Presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Lula highlighted the historic nature of this opportunity for Brazil –– and added that it is time for the agenda around combating inequality, hunger and poverty to be taken up for discussion with the world’s most important leaders. “It is no longer humanly possible to explain how the world can be so rich — that so much money crosses the Atlantic Ocean — and still so many people can be going hungry,” he said.

The Brazilian president also mentioned climate change as another of the country's priorities in its leadership of the G20. “To Brazil, energy transition is an opportunity that we did not have in the 20th century. Now, in the 21st century, we can show the world that whoever wants to use green energy to produce what is necessary for humanity can come to Brazil: it is a safe haven where people may invest, helping to turn it into a developed country once and for all,” added Lula.

Lula also addressed the need for changes in the global governance system and in the way the true economic needs of developing countries are understood.  it is no longer possible for Bretton Woods institutions, the World Bank, IMF and other financial institutions to go on functioning as if nothing were happening in the world, as if everything’s been solved," he said.

REFERENCE –– Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mauro Vieira highlighted that the G20 presidency is an opportunity for Brazil to project itself as a global reference in sustainable economic development alongside social commitment.

This will be a unique opportunity to project a renewed image of Brazil, and to present a vision of leadership in terms of international cooperation and discussion of major economic and social issues"

Mauro Vieira, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“This will be a unique opportunity to project a renewed image of Brazil, and to present a vision of leadership in terms of international cooperation and discussion of major economic and social issues," he declared.

Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will coordinate the G20 Sherpa Track –– a body that is responsible for organizing and facilitating the activities of 15 working groups focused on fields such as the environment, agriculture, education, energy, health, empowerment women, commerce, investment, technology and innovation, among others.

NEW MULTILATERALISM –– To the Brazilian Minister of Finance Fernando Haddad, multilateralism and integration between nations must be recovered –– and the G20 presidency will allow Brazil to address these issues.

"We are proposing that Brazil leads a kind of sustainable reglobalization from a social and environmental point of view. Having the chance to guide the work of the G20 doesn’t happen every day. We have to use this opportunity to advance our vision for a more integrated, prosperous and generous world, which allows us to achieve our aspirations as a society," said Haddad.

On the Finance Track, the priorities defined by the Brazilian Ministry of Finance and Central Bank are to prevent risks through effective coordination between economic and financial policies; to place inequality at the center of the macroeconomic agenda at a global level; to develop a new approach towards fair international taxation; and to find solutions to correct inequalities.

G20 SOCIAL –– The Brazilian G20 presidency is also committing to expanding social participation in the grouping’s decision-making processes. The Brazilian Presidency’s General Secretariat (Secretaria Geral da Presidência da República) promises to ensure new social participation within foreign policy.

We want social participation to be one of the legacies of Brazil's G20 presidency: never before in the history of humanity will there have been such intense participation of society in decisions"

Márcio Macêdo, Minister of the Brazilian Presidency’s General Secretariat

"Through its General Secretariat and in coordination with its ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance, the Brazilian government has developed and expanded a new concept called G20 Social –– introducing this unprecedented idea into the history of the group," explained Minister Márcio Macêdo.

The idea is that the G20 Social will ensure different voices, struggles and demands of the populations of the world’s 20 largest economies to be heard and seen. It will also coordinate the activities of 12 engagement groups and several other non-governmental initiatives that involve societies from all G20 countries.

According to Macêdo, technical meetings have already been held with all representatives of the groups, and the next step is to increase political coordination. The groups must provide a broad structure to forward society's demands to their respective leaders and participate in the bloc's decisions.

The completed work of the G20 Social will be presented during the Social Summit on November 15, 16 and 17, 2024 –– on the eve of the G20 Leaders’ Summit to be held on November 18 and 19, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro.

"We want social participation to be one of the legacies of Brazil's G20 presidency: never before in the history of humanity will there have been such intense participation of society in decisions", said Macêdo.

TASK FORCES –– Brazil’s federal government will include two task forces to combat hunger and inequality and address climate change. Moreover, other axes will be brought to discussion, with emphasis on initiatives that encourage bioeconomy and a working group to address female empowerment. “We must redouble our efforts to achieve the goal of ending world hunger by the end of this decade –– and we must act to combat climate change whilst keeping in mind the interests of developing countries," stated Mauro Vieira.

AGENDA –– Sherpa and Finance tracks will begin in Brasília on December 11. Declarations and other acts to be adopted by G20 leaders at the Rio de Janeiro Summit in November 2024 will be negotiated.

The general agenda of the Brazilian G20 presidency foresees three phases. The first are video conference meetings in January and February covering all 15 working groups. In a second phase, technical and in-person meetings will take place between March and June in several Brazilian cities. The third phase involves in-person ministerial meetings that will be equally distributed across Brazil between August and October.

The sequence of meetings aims to prepare for the Rio de Janeiro Summit on November 18 and 19, 2024. "If 2023 marked Brazil's return to the world, 2024 will be the year in which the world will return to Brazil," said Mauro Vieira.