G-20 to Discuss Iran Crisis Impact at Washington Meeting

Tokyo, April 13 (Jiji Press)–Top Group of 20 finance officials are expected to discuss the global economic outlook amid the ongoing Iran crisis at their meeting in Washington on Thursday. Finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the 20 advanced and emerging economies are also seen exchanging views on measures to spur economic growth in the face of elevated prices of crude oil and other goods reflecting the Middle East tensions. Deregulation will also likely be on the agenda. From Japan, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama and Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda are slated to attend the gathering. It will be the first G-20 ministerial meeting this year as the United States, which has the 2026 presidency of the framework, opted not to hold a meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs in February, despite such a meeting having been held that month every year in principle. The conflict between the U.S.-Israeli side and Iran has led to a spike in crude oil prices. The United States and Iran reached a two-week ceasefire last week. But their two-day talks held in Islamabad until Sunday to end their fighting broke down because the two sides remained apart over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route for Middle East crude oil, and Tehran’s nuclear development. The fate of the ceasefire now looks uncertain, and concerns are growing over global inflation and economic slowdown. Attention will be paid to whether G-20 member economies will be able to take a coordinated stance at the upcoming meeting as the current Middle East crisis started with attacks on Iran by the United States, a key member of the grouping. With Asia and other regions heavily dependent on the Middle East for energy supplies and many countries struggling to procure crude oil and petroleum products amid the crisis, financial assistance by national governments and multilateral development banks may also be discussed at the Washington meeting, informed sources said. The first meeting among G-20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs was held in 1999, in the wake of a currency crisis in Asia. Since then, member economies have discussed challenges facing the global economy as well as fiscal and financial issues. In recent years, a wide range of issues have been addressed, including responses to climate change and infectious diseases. At the upcoming meeting, however, the United States plans to narrow down topics, apparently aiming to return to the original philosophy shared at the time of the launch of the G-20 framework. Now that all member economies have taken turns holding the rotating presidency, the raison d’etre of the G-20 framework may be put to the test. On the sidelines of the G-20 meeting, the Group of Seven major industrialized nations will hold a meeting of their finance ministers and top central bankers in Washington, with major topics seen including current account imbalances and development assistance for developing countries. The G-7 groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States plus the European Union, all of which are members of the G-20 framework. France serves as this year’s G-7 chair. The G-7 will separately hold a meeting with other countries to discuss diversifying supply chains for rare earths and other critical minerals. Spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are slated around the G-20 meeting. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]