Finance Minister Fernando Haddad is in Japan to attend the meeting of the Group of Seven (G7), formed by the six largest western economies (United States, Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom and Italy) and Japan.
The minister’s agenda has three main focuses, according to his advisor: reinforcing Brazil’s relevance on the international stage, discussing necessary reforms for the economy and creating ties with participating countries. It is the first time that a Brazilian finance minister participates as a guest in a G7 meeting.
Haddad’s agenda begins this Thursday (11), when he will have breakfast with businessmen, in Tokyo, and a bilateral meeting with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in the city of Niigata, to discuss the Bank’s reform World Cup and other topics of bilateral interest.
The reform of the World Bank, a multilateral organization focused on financing development projects, aims to allow a more effective response to the needs of countries, in addition to involving the institution in negotiations on topics such as climate change, pandemics and conflicts.
According to Yellen recently, the change should allow the institution to lend US$ 50 billion more, in the next decade, to countries in need.
The official sessions of the G7 begin on Friday (12th), in Niigata, and Haddad has a confirmed presence in all of them. The first panel will address the future of the welfare state. The second will discuss the macroeconomics of emerging countries and the third will focus on the challenge of financing, especially in the area of infrastructure.
In addition to Haddad, representatives from two emerging countries (India and Indonesia) will be present, as well as other guests: Australia, Comoros, Cook Islands, Republic of Korea and Vietnam.
During the trip, Haddad will also meet with the US economist Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel Prize — on green industrial policy — and with the finance ministers of India, Nirmala Sitharaman, and Japan, Shunichi Suzuki.
Another objective of the Brazilian minister is to defend the importance of the G20, of which Brazil will be the next president. The organization brings together the largest and most important economies in the world — 19 countries plus one bloc, the European Union.
The finance ministers’ meeting precedes the meeting of the leaders of the G7 member countries, scheduled for the next 19th, also in Japan, which will be attended by the Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Editing: Patricia de Matos
Source: www.brasildefato.com.br
