This year, Brazil has taken over the baton and is the host country for a number of meetings in the G20. Norway has been invited to participate as one of eight guest countries. The last time it happened was in 2017, when Germany held the presidency. Today and tomorrow, the G20 foreign ministers gather in Rio de Janeiro. Among the topics are the war in Gaza and Ukraine. news learns that Brazil does not want these wars to affect all working groups throughout the year, and therefore they are being prioritized now. In addition, the parties will discuss the need for reform of international institutions such as the UN and the development banks. Rio de Janeiro hosts the first G20 ministerial meeting in 2024. Here is the world-famous Copacabana beach. Photo: Hilda Lishaugen Nyfløt / news You need to know this before the meetings start. 1. What is the G20? The G20 forum is an international summit between 19 countries, the EU and the new full member of the year: the African Union (AU). The 19 states are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, and the United States. Together, they make up around 80 per cent of the world’s value creation, 75 per cent of world trade and two thirds of the world’s population. The G20 was founded in 1999 with the aim of securing the conditions for economic growth, cooperation and stability. Brazil holds the chairmanship of the G20 and wants to prioritize the fight against inequality and hunger during the meetings this year. The country will also work for social inclusion, energy transition, sustainable development and reform of so-called multilateral institutions. Photo: Pablo Porciuncula / AFP 2. Why is the G20 important for Norway? The G20 is one of the most influential forums in the world. Being a guest country gives Norway a seat around the table, access to information and the opportunity to promote Norwegian interests. – Norway is a small country with an open economy. We are interested in as much free trade as possible, a peaceful world and an international system that works, Iver Neumann, director at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute. Brazil is Norway’s third most important trading partner after the USA and the EU. As a guest country in the G20, new opportunities for deepening cooperation are opened up. Norway also gets the opportunity to set up bilateral meetings with the other member states. – Norway is a small country, with a medium-sized economy, which is very globally oriented. Almost everything we consume in Norway is imported from abroad. We export almost everything we make abroad, so we are very international in our economy, says Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide. Today, the world’s most important economies gather in Rio de Janeiro for the year’s first G20 ministerial meeting. Eide attended a Norwegian reception in the city last night. Photo: Hilda Lishaugen Nyfløt / news – That is why we have an interest in free trade in the world, that the world works and that people cooperate. And it is also important for our own security that the countries respect international law, for example. Many Norwegian ministerial visits In addition to Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide’s visit to Brazil, Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum will also participate in several meetings in the South American country throughout the year. First up is the finance minister’s meeting in São Paulo on 27-29. February. Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum will participate in several meetings in Brazil throughout the year. He will travel to São Paulo next week for the G20 finance ministers’ meeting. Photo: William Jobling / news Development Minister Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Industry Minister Jan Christian Vestre and Storting President Masud Gharahkhani will also participate in the G20. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will travel to the main meeting with the heads of state in November. A number of other Norwegian diplomats and top bureaucrats will also participate in the many meetings. 3. Which topics will be taken up at the meeting of foreign ministers on 21–22 February? International crises such as the “conflict in the Middle East” and Gaza will be discussed when the foreign ministers gather in Rio de Janeiro today. So will the Ukraine war, which last year meant that the foreign ministers did not agree on a joint final declaration in New Delhi in India. Brazilian President Luiz Lula da Silva believes the wars can be resolved by removing the right of veto in the UN Security Council. A reform of the UN is among the topics the foreign ministers will discuss. Brazilian President Lula da Silva attended a meeting of the African Union last week. Now the Union is part of the G20, as is the EU. Photo: RICARDO STUCKERT / AFP Lula also wants more representatives in the Security Council as well as permanent members from African and Latin American countries. Yesterday, the US vetoed for the third time a UN resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. France, China, Russia, Great Britain and the United States are the permanent members with veto rights. – What is happening in Gaza is not a war, it is genocide. It is not a war of soldiers against soldiers, it is a war of a well-equipped army against women and children, Lula said at a meeting of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa on Sunday. The Brazilian president compared Israel’s war in Gaza to Hitler’s killing of the Jews. He has previously criticized US arms deliveries to Israel. Brazilian President Lula da Silva calls the war in Gaza a genocide. The subject will be taken up by the foreign ministers during the meeting today and tomorrow. Here at a distribution of sacks of flour in Gaza City. Photo: Kosay Al Nemer / Reuters The so-called “global south”, formerly called developing countries, or countries that have often been colonies, has long criticized the West’s double standards in its approaches to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. In addition to a reform of the UN, it will also be discussed to change other global institutions such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Brazilian President Lula wants the countries of the Global South to have more influence in these institutions. US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken has also stated in a press release that the US wants international cooperation to support Haiti, which is in a humanitarian crisis with widespread violence. 4. Why was Norway invited as a guest country? To be invited as a guest country, the country must be seen as a supporter of the host country, and it is Brazil alone that decided which countries they wanted to invite. The other guest countries are Egypt, Angola, Nigeria, Portugal, Singapore, Spain and the United Arab Emirates. An important reason for the Norwegian invitation is the Norwegian-Brazilian collaboration to reduce deforestation in the Amazon through the Amazon Fund. Norway’s work with food security and energy is also important for Brazil. In addition, Norway and Brazil share a more similar view of the Gaza war compared to other European countries. Israel has erected a wall around the Aida refugee camp at the health center and school run by UNRWA, one of the UN’s largest aid organizations. Many Western countries cut aid after Israel accused UNRWA staff of being members of Hamas. Photo: Maya Alleruzzo / AP While several western countries have halted their support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Norway most recently gave NOK 275 million earlier in February. Lula also announced that Brazil will send more money to UNRWA last week. 5. What has the G20 achieved in the past? It is disputed how much the G20 has shaped the world. The supporters believe that the economic cooperation between the countries has led to hundreds of millions of people getting out of poverty. After the financial crisis in 2008, the G20 summit adopted a crisis package of NOK 6,600 billion to save the world economy. The G20 has taken the initiative to fight tax havens, created international tax treaties, dealt with the COVID pandemic and worked on climate issues. Back in 2021, climate change and the relaunch of the global economy were the main themes of the G20 Council meeting in Rome. Photo: Ludovic MARIN / AFP Opponents, on the other hand, believe that the G20 has failed to prevent ever-increasing inequality, pollution and the climate crisis. The leaders have been called imperialistic. There are often large demonstrations against the G20 summits. When the finance ministers were due to meet two months after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several countries had previously advocated expelling Russia from the G20. That did not happen, and Canada’s finance minister was among those who left the meeting in Indonesia in protest. 6. What are Brazil’s ambitions for the chairmanship? Brazil wants to prioritize the fight against inequality and hunger during the meetings this year – for a fairer world. The country will also work for social inclusion, energy transition, sustainable development and reform of so-called multilateral institutions.
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Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide participates in the year’s first G20 meeting in Brazil – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
