Jakarta (ANTARA) - G20 will remain committed to multilateralism despite finance ministers of several G20 member states staging a walkout during the recent Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG), Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati stated.
"It is interesting that despite the condemnation against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, member states also affirmed the necessity to maintain cooperation between G20 member states and multilateralism," Indrawati noted during the G20 2nd FMCBG Meeting press conference on Thursday.
Earlier, finance ministers of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom staged a walkout as a protest against the presence of the Russian delegation during the G20 2nd FMCBG Meeting organized under Indonesia's G20 Presidency in Washington, D.C.
According to Indrawati, the G20 understood that some G7 member states would take action against the presence of the Russian delegation during the meeting.
The decision of the finance ministers to walk out of the meeting did not disrupt or hamper the discussion, she added.
"This is not surprising at all. Indonesia, as the current holder of the G20 Presidency, has concluded the discussion without any issues or disruptions," Indrawati noted.
The finance minister highlighted that as some other countries, including Ukraine, and international organizations were invited to the meeting, discussions and views on risks of the global economy could be accommodated better.
She opined that the presence of the Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the meeting ought to be a good momentum, as all issues could by then be discussed openly by member states.
Their presence could also help G20 member states to address principal issues in the global economy, including the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, the minister stated.
Indrawati remarked that the Russia-Ukraine conflict that was causing significant hikes in the price of energy resources, foods, and basic needs was hampering efforts to maintain the fragile global economic recovery from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Current global challenges posed mammoth challenges to policymakers to continue economic recovery while countries are facing high inflation, she stated.
"All member states see G20 as an important forum, the main forum of economic cooperation to discuss our interests in economic competition as well as to coordinate and collaborate (for our goals)," the minister remarked.
