G20 leaders meet in Indonesia’s Bali in the shadow of war and economic slowdown

World leaders discuss food and energy security (main) on the opening day of the G20 Summit in Bali. (Getty Images)
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Updated 16 November 2022
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G20 leaders meet in Indonesia’s Bali in the shadow of war and economic slowdown

  • “Recover together, recover stronger” theme alludes to COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences
  • Presidents Biden and Xi held first in-person meeting amid strained US-China relations over a number of issues

DENPASAR, Bali: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year appeared to overshadow all else on the agenda of the leaders’ meeting of the Group of 20 on Tuesday, with the conflict in Europe having fueled geopolitical tensions and a global surge in food and energy prices.

Leaders of G20 member states, invited countries and international organizations have gathered in Bali to discuss the pressing challenges facing the global economy, which is creeping toward a recession.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most populous country and Southeast Asia’s largest economy, is hosting the summit under the theme “Recover together, recover stronger” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and its economic consequences.

Although the summit’s official focus is on financial stability, health, sustainable energy, and digital transformation, host Indonesia faces another layer of complexity as it tries to bridge rifts within the G20 over the war in Ukraine.

Joko Widodo, the Indonesian president, acknowledged the mood during his opening remarks on Tuesday, just before the closed-door discussions began.

“I understand we need huge efforts to be able to sit together in this room,” he said, while calling for collaboration among countries.

He pointed out that the world could not afford to fall into “another Cold War,” adding that nations must work to “end the war.”

He said: “Today, the eyes of the world are on our meeting. Will we score success? Or will we add one more to the list of failures? For us, G20 must succeed and cannot fail.”

Seventeen G20 leaders are attending this week’s summit, including US President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Indonesia invited other nations and international organizations to take part, adding to a long list of world leaders that includes UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.




Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets French President Emmanuel Macron (right), as well as speaking with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed (top left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoga on the sidelines of the G20 summit. (SPA)

Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, addressed G20 leaders via video link on the summit’s first day, in which he shared his optimism that the conflict’s end could be in sight.

He said: “I am convinced now is the time when the Russian destructive war must and can be stopped.”

Analysts expect the war to feature prominently in the summit’s final communique, despite calls by the Indonesian hosts for dialogue and collaboration to resolve global economic problems such as inflation, and food and energy security.

Gatherings of G20 ministers since Indonesia took over the group’s presidency last December have failed to produce joint declarations. There have been disagreements between Russia and other members on the precise language, including how to describe what is occurring in Ukraine.

Dr. Ahmad Rizky Mardhatillah Umar, an Indonesian international relations researcher at the University of Queensland, in Australia said the expected final declaration on Wednesday was unlikely to fully address the global challenges facing the world today.

He told Arab News: “Given the tensions between the US and China for example in some political matters and then war in Ukraine, it is difficult to see the G20 Summit will deliver an agreeable result that can solve the global challenges facing the world today, because global challenges facing the world today are largely a political problem.




Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, addressed G20 leaders via video link on the summit’s first day. (Screenshot)

“So, it is a difficult task for Indonesia to deliver a joint communique which is able to solve all the global challenges.”

He noted that the challenges facing the world today were “something that goes beyond Indonesia’s reach.”

Umar added that this was “because the global crisis today requires political solutions, and it is difficult for Indonesia to mediate, for example, between Russia and Ukraine.”

The gathering in Bali follows concerted efforts by Indonesia to broker peace between the warring nations. In late June, Widodo was the first Asian leader to travel to Kyiv and Moscow to meet his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts in an effort to ease the conflict’s impact on the international community.

Bhima Yudhistira, director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, also felt that the global situation was beyond Indonesia’s control.

“The summit has been overshadowed by the Ukraine war, and it’s possible that they won’t reach a final communique, even though the key of the meeting’s success is on this communique,” he told Arab News.

“Indonesia’s position is as a developing country, and the defining players are the ones in conflict and developed countries, so even being able to facilitate the meeting between America’s Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping at the G20 is already an achievement for now,” Yudhistira said.




Analysts expect the war to feature prominently in the summit’s final communique, despite calls by the Indonesian hosts for dialogue and collaboration to resolve global economic problems such as inflation, and food and energy security. (AFP)

On Tuesday, Biden and Xi held their first in-person meeting since the US president took office. It came amid strained relations between their two countries that span various issues, ranging from trade to the status of Taiwan.

Yudhistira was nevertheless confident that this year’s G20 Summit would go down in history.

“I think this is a historic G20. It’s historic because of the polarization, because of the crack in multilateralism, but it’s still the one forum that brings together differences, such as between the US and China,” he added.

For others, there was still hope that the summit could bring about stability.

Diana Dewi, chairwoman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s chapter in Jakarta, told Arab News: “There is hope that this would result in world peace, because with this summit it’s not only about reaching for economic growth, but ever since the beginning, like President Widodo has said, this is an event that is supposed to unite.”

News agencies reported on Tuesday that leaders of the world’s largest economies appeared ready to convey a strong message condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though the draft declaration would still need to be approved by all the group’s members.

Established in 1999 in the wake of the Asian financial crisis, the G20 was originally intended to foster global economic cooperation. But it has since morphed into a forum addressing urgent world problems. This year’s focus was on health infrastructure and food security.

The annual leaders’ summit also serves as an opportunity for informal diplomatic exchanges, as heads of state participate in bilateral talks on the sidelines of the big meeting.




Joe Biden (right) and Chinese president Xi Jinping held their first in-person meeting since the US president took office. (AFP)

Tuesday witnessed a handful of the bilateral exchanges, including that of Xi and Anthony Albanese, Australia’s new prime minister, which marked the first formal meeting between the leaders of the two countries since 2016.

The Saudi crown prince also held a number of meetings on the summit’s sidelines, including with the UAE president, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Though most international headlines have focused on US and Chinese participation in the summit due to their global economic standing, Saudi Arabia’s role “is very significant,” senior Indonesian journalist Andreas Ismar told Arab News.

“Saudi Arabia needs to diversify its economy to be less oil-reliant and they have plenty of chances of doing that in this forum,” Ismar said, alluding to the Vision 2030 reform plan aimed at diversifying the Kingdom’s economy away from hydrocarbons.

Saudi Aramco and Indonesia’s state-owned Pertamina recently agreed to work together on the possibility of developing a clean ammonia and hydrogen value chain, as both Riyadh and Jakarta prioritize efforts on transitioning toward renewable energy sources.

“I’m guessing there will be plenty more to come between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. Cooperation between the two countries was previously more on political and culture, but it is now rapidly shifting into economics,” Ismar added.

 


Finnish fighter jet crashes in Arctic town, pilot ejected

Updated 4 sec ago
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Finnish fighter jet crashes in Arctic town, pilot ejected

ROVANIEMI : A Finnish F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet crashed Wednesday near the Rovaniemi airport in Finland’s Arctic north, but the pilot was rescued after ejecting, the armed forces said.
No details were available about the cause of the crash, which occurred “in the Rovaniemi airport area” around 11:00 am (0800 GMT), the military said.
Dark smoke could be seen rising from the scene and several emergency vehicles were dispatched to the area, public service broadcaster YLE said.
The road leading to the airport was closed to traffic, and police blocked access to the airport, it added.
Airport operator Finavia told AFP that it did not expect civilian flights to be affected by the accident for the time being, with the next flight not expected for several hours.

Vatican conclave to pick new pope, world awaits white smoke

Updated 43 min 23 sec ago
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Vatican conclave to pick new pope, world awaits white smoke

  • Cardinals vote in the Sistine Chapel, cut off from world
  • New pope unlikely to emerge before Thursday or Friday
  • Lead cardinal tells peers to set aside personal desires

VATICAN CITY: Roman Catholic cardinals will begin the task on Wednesday of electing a new pope, locking themselves away from the world until they choose the man they hope can unite a diverse but divided global Church.
In a ritual dating back to medieval times, the cardinals will file into the Vatican’s frescoed Sistine Chapel after a public Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica and start their secret conclave for a successor to Pope Francis, who died last month.
No pope has been elected on the first day of a conclave for centuries, so voting could continue for several days before one of the red-hatted princes of the Church receives the necessary two-thirds majority to become the 267th pontiff.
There will be only one ballot on Wednesday. Thereafter, the cardinals can vote as many as four times a day.
They will burn their ballots, with black smoke from a chimney on the roof of the chapel marking an inconclusive vote, while white smoke and the peeling of bells signalling that the 1.4-billion member church has a new leader.
The pope’s influence reaches well beyond the Catholic Church, providing a moral voice and a call to conscience that no other global leader can match.
At a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Wednesday morning before entering the conclave, the cardinals prayed that God would help them find a pope who would exercise “watchful care” over the world.
In a sermon, Italian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re told his peers they must set aside “every personal consideration” in choosing the new pontiff and keep in mind “only ... the good of the Church and of humanity.”
Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, is 91 and will not enter the conclave, which is reserved for cardinals under the age of 80.
Cardinals in recent days have offered different assessments of what they are looking for in the next pontiff.
While some have called for continuity with Francis’ vision of greater openness and reform, others have said they want to turn the clock back and embrace old traditions. Many have indicated they want a more predictable, measured pontificate.
A record 133 cardinals from 70 countries will enter the Sistine Chapel, up from 115 from 48 nations in the last conclave in 2013 — growth that reflects Francis’ efforts to extend the reach of the Church to far-flung regions with few Catholics.
No clear favorite has emerged, although Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle are considered the front-runners.

NO EAVESDROPPING
However, if it quickly becomes obvious that neither can win, votes are likely to shift to other contenders, with the electors possibly coalescing around geography, doctrinal affinity or common languages.
Among other potential candidates are France’s Jean-Marc Aveline, Hungary’s Peter Erdo, American Robert Prevost and Italy’s Pierbattista Pizzaballa.
Re suggested the cardinals should look for a pope who respected the diversity within the Church. “Unity does not mean uniformity, but a firm and profound communion in diversity,” he said in his sermon.
As in medieval times, the cardinals will be banned from communicating with outsiders during the conclave, and the Vatican has taken high-tech measures to ensure secrecy, including jamming devices to prevent any eavesdropping.
The average length of the last 10 conclaves was just over three days and none went on for more than five days. A 2013 conclave lasted just two days.
The cardinals will be looking to wrap things up quickly again this time to avoid giving the impression that they are divided or that the Church is adrift.
Some 80 percent of the cardinals who enter the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday were appointed by Francis, increasing the possibility that his successor will in some way continue his progressive policies despite strong pushback from traditionalists.
Among their considerations will be whether they should seek a pope from the global south where congregations are growing, as they did in 2013 with the Argentinian Francis, hand back the reins to Europe or even pick a first US pope.


China says US side initiated upcoming Geneva meeting on tariffs

Updated 07 May 2025
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China says US side initiated upcoming Geneva meeting on tariffs

BEIJING: An upcoming meeting between China and US trade representatives in Geneva was requested by the US side, a spokesperson for China’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
China announced earlier that Vice Premier He Lifeng will visit Switzerland from May 9 to 12 during which He will also have a meeting with a US delegation led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
China’s position of opposing US tariffs has not changed and any dialogues must be based on equality, respect and mutual benefit, spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters.


India strikes Pakistan over tourist killings, Pakistan says Indian jets downed

Updated 07 May 2025
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India strikes Pakistan over tourist killings, Pakistan says Indian jets downed

  • India fired missiles into Pakistani-controlled territory in several locations early Wednesday, killing at least 26 people including a child
  • India says it struck terrorist sites in Pakistan
  • Pakistan says mosques, civilians hit, vows to respond

MUZAFFARABAD/NEW DELHI: India attacked Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday and Pakistan said it had shot down five Indian fighter jets in the worst fighting in more than two decades between the nuclear-armed enemies.
India said it struck nine Pakistani “terrorist infrastructure” sites, some of them linked to an attack by Islamist militants on Hindu tourists that killed 26 people in Indian Kashmir last month.
Islamabad said six Pakistani locations were targeted, and that none of them were militant camps. At least 26 civilians were killed and 46 injured, a Pakistan military spokesperson said.
Indian forces attacked the headquarters of Islamist militant groups Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Indian defense source told Reuters.
“India has demonstrated considerable restraint in selection of targets and method of execution,” the Indian defense ministry said in a statement.
Pakistan said Indian missiles hit three sites and a military spokesperson told Reuters five Indian aircraft had been shot down, a claim not confirmed by India.
However, four local government sources in Indian Kashmir told Reuters that three fighter jets had crashed in separate areas of the Himalayan region during the night.
All three pilots had been hospitalized, the sources added. Indian defense ministry officials were not immediately available to confirm the report.
Images circulating on local media showed a large, damaged cylindrical chunk of silver-colored metal lying in a field at one of the crash sites. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the image.
Islamabad called the assault a “blatant act of war” and said it had informed the UN Security Council that Pakistan reserved the right to respond appropriately to Indian aggression.
“All of these engagements have been done as a defensive measure,” Pakistan military spokesperson Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said. “Pakistan remains a very responsible state. However, we will take all the steps necessary for defending the honor, integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan, at all cost.”
The South Asian neighbors also exchanged intense shelling and heavy gunfire across much of their de facto border in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, police and witnesses told Reuters.
Hindu-majority India and Islamic Pakistan have fought two of their three wars since independence in 1947 over Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both sides claim in full and control in part.

’OPERATION SINDOOR’
Since a 2003 ceasefire, to which both countries recommitted in 2021, targeted strikes between the neighbors are extremely rare, especially Indian strikes on Pakistani areas outside Pakistani Kashmir.
But analysts said the risk of escalation is higher than in the recent past due to the severity of India’s attack, which New Delhi called “Operation Sindoor.” Sindoor is the Hindi language word for vermilion, a red powder that Hindu women put on the forehead or parting of their hair as a sign of marriage.
US President Donald Trump called the fighting “a shame” and added, “I hope it ends quickly.” The State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to the national security advisers of both nations, urging “both to keep lines of communication open and avoid escalation.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for maximum military restraint from both countries, a spokesperson said. China, which neighbors both India and Pakistan, also called for restraint.
The Pakistani army’s shelling across the frontier in Kashmir killed seven civilians and injured 35 in the Indian sector of the region, police there said.
Indian TV channels showed videos of explosions, fire, large plumes of smoke in the night sky and people fleeing in several places in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir. Reuters could not independently verify the footage.
In Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistani Kashmir, damage from the Indian strike was visible at sunrise. Security forces surrounded a small mosque in a hill-side residential neighborhood which had been hit, with its minaret collapsed.
All schools in Pakistani Kashmir, the national capital Islamabad, and much of Indian Kashmir and the populous Pakistani province of Punjab were ordered closed on Wednesday in the aftermath of the strikes.
Imran Shaheen, a district official in Pakistani Kashmir, said two mortars landed on a house in the town of Forward Kahuta, killing two men and injuring several women and children. In another village, a resident had been killed in firing, Shaheen said.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad was responding to the Indian attacks but did not provide details. Pakistan’s populous province of Punjab declared an emergency, its chief minister said, and hospitals and emergency services were on high alert.
A Pakistani military spokesperson told broadcaster Geo that two mosques were among the sites hit by India. The Pakistani defense minister told Geo that all the sites were civilian and not militant camps.
He said India’s claim of targeting “camps of terrorists is false.”
After India’s strikes, the Indian army said in a post on X on Wednesday: “Justice is served.”

STOCK FUTURES, AIRLINES IMPACTED
A spokesperson for the Indian Embassy in Washington told Reuters that evidence pointed “toward the clear involvement of Pakistan-based terrorists in this terror attack,” referring to the April tourist killings.
India said two of three suspects in that attack were Pakistani nationals but had not detailed its evidence. Pakistan denied that it had anything to do with the April killings.
News of the strikes impacted Indian stock futures mildly, with the GIFT NIFTY at 24,311, 0.3 percent below the NIFTY 50’s last close of 24,379.6 on Tuesday.
Several airlines including India’s largest airline, IndiGo , Air India and Qatar Airways canceled flights in areas of India and Pakistan due to closures of airports and airspace. Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval spoke to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior Indian officials briefed counterparts in Britain, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, an Indian source told Reuters.
The Indian strike goes far beyond New Delhi’s response to previous attacks in Kashmir blamed on Pakistan. Those include India’s 2019 air strike on Pakistan after 40 Indian paramilitary police were killed in Kashmir and India’s retaliation for the deaths of 18 soldiers in 2016.
“Given the scale of the Indian strike, which was far greater than what we saw in 2019, we can expect a sizable Pakistani response,” said Michael Kugelman, a Washington-based South Asia analyst and writer for the Foreign Policy magazine.
“All eyes will be on India’s next move. We’ve had a strike and a counter-strike, and what comes next will be the strongest indication of just how serious a crisis this could become,” he said.


Trump, Ukraine propel EU and UK toward defense pact

Updated 07 May 2025
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Trump, Ukraine propel EU and UK toward defense pact

  • The EU and Britain look set to seal a defense pact at a landmark summit this month as worries about US President Donald Trump and the war in Ukraine spur them beyond the wrangles of Brexit

BRUSSELS: The EU and Britain look set to seal a defense pact at a landmark summit this month as worries about US President Donald Trump and the war in Ukraine spur them beyond the wrangles of Brexit.
Multiple EU diplomats and officials told AFP the signs are positive that a security agreement will be inked when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets EU chiefs in London on May 19.
The “security and defense partnership” is billed as an important first step in Starmer’s much-vaunted push to reset ties after the years of bad blood caused by the UK leaving the bloc.
The move is aimed at opening the door to closer cooperation as both the EU and Britain race to rearm in the face of the menace from Russia and fears Trump will no longer help protect Europe.
That should mean more regular security talks, Britain considering joining EU military missions and the potential for London to fully tap into a 150-billion-euro defense fund being set up by the bloc.
But the deal is expected to leave much of the detail to be filled in later — for instance requiring a further agreement on giving the UK and its defense industry unfettered access to the EU programs.
“It is a pre-condition for more serious stuff,” said one EU diplomat, talking like others on condition of anonymity to discuss internal discussions.
Diplomats said fears had subsided that a dispute over prolonging access to British waters for EU fishermen could derail talks as both sides are keen to improve relations amid the global turmoil unleashed by Trump.
“At this stage I’d say the odds are quite positive,” said a second EU diplomat. “But all the different files are linked, so lots can still happen between now and the 19th.”
The defense deal is expected to be signed alongside two other documents: one setting out a shared vision on global issues and another on the list of thorny subjects both sides hope to make progress on, including customs checks, energy links and a youth mobility scheme.
The drafts are set to be debated by EU ambassadors in Brussels on Wednesday and need to be signed off by all 27 before they can be forwarded to the British for final approval.
London and Brussels are treading carefully as closer cooperation with the EU remains a politically divisive issue for Starmer who faces a growing challenge from diehard euroskeptics Reform UK.
Reaching the security pact was long seen as the lowest hanging fruit for negotiators given that Britain already has intertwined defense ties with 23 EU countries in NATO.
Those bonds have only tightened as Trump has rattled Europe by pushing for a quick end to the war in Ukraine.
Britain has teamed up with France to spearhead plans for possibly deploying troops to Ukraine in the event of any deal.
In the latest sign of the closer relationship, British foreign minister David Lammy will meet his EU counterparts for talks in Warsaw on Wednesday.
London said Lammy would “make the case for a long-term UK-EU strategic partnership that will support economic growth, protect citizens, and support European collective security and defense.”
“We are working hand-in-hand with our European allies to build a safer, more secure, and more prosperous Europe,” Lammy said in a statement.
“Together, we will stand firm against aggression, defend our shared values, and deliver lasting peace. “