Expectations and challenges

Brazil is taking over the G20 presidency for the first time as the country tries to regain its international prominence.

Brazil đảm nhận Chủ tịch G20: Nhiều kỳ vọng. (Nguồn: Brazilian Report)

Brazil kicks off its G20 Presidency with the theme "Building a Just World and a Sustainable Planet". (Source: Brazilian Report)

On December 1, Brazil officially assumed the role of Chair of the Group of 20 leading developed and emerging economies (G20) in 2024 with an agenda of more than 100 meetings and ending with a summit from November 18-19 in Rio de Janeiro. This is the first year of the expanded G20 with the participation of the African Union (AU) - a bloc with a gross domestic product (GDP) of about 3,000 billion USD and a population of more than 1.4 billion people.

Brazil is also set to take over the rotating presidency of the BRICS group of emerging economies in 2024, but as the country's Finance Minister Fernando Haddad explained, Brasilia has decided to move that role to 2025 to focus on fulfilling both roles.

As a forum for the world’s largest economies, discussions at the G20 focus primarily on global economic cooperation and related issues. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was an early supporter of the G20 in 2008, when the G20 was upgraded from a forum of finance ministers to the level of heads of state. At the time, he said it was a historic event and was optimistic about the future of the G20. Brazil’s efforts to promote the role of the G20 are also part of its efforts to build a better multilateral system in which countries like Brazil have a greater role.

The 2024 Agenda focuses on three major themes: fighting poverty and inequality; sustainable development with three pillars of economy, society and environment; and reforming the global governance system. This shows that the host country Brazil has high expectations for its G20 Presidency year in the direction of enhancing the role of developing countries in the global financial system, especially in increasing concessional loans to poor countries for projects against climate change and restructuring their debts. In addition, this Latin American country also wants to promote the reform of the global tax system, which has been discussed at the United Nations General Assembly and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) but has not yet reached concrete results.

To achieve G20 consensus on the above issues, Brasilia needs the support of the countries of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized countries (also a member of the G20) as well as China, the world's second largest economy and the largest creditor of many poor countries at risk of default. In addition, the host country also has to deal with a difficult issue of Russia's participation when Brazil is a member of the International Criminal Court, the organization that has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin. The world situation is still complicated and unpredictable, the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, armed conflicts in many places, the slowing economic recovery, concerns about non-traditional security such as climate change, environmental pollution, cybercrime...

These are the challenges that Brazil must overcome in 2024 to achieve its expectations in the year of its presidency of the G20, the political and economic forum with the most potential to impact and influence international agendas.

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