G20 finance meetings in Bali overshadowed by war in Ukraine

BANGKOK (AP) — Financial leaders of the Group of 20 richest and biggest economies have wrapped up meetings on the Indonesian resort island of Bali without a final joint communique after talks were overshadowed by divisions over the war in Ukraine.

As G-20 host this year, Indonesia has sought to bridge divisions between G-20 members over Russia’s invasion, but enmity over the conflict was evident even as the finance ministers and central bank chiefs appeared to concur on the urgency of global economic challenges, including decades-high inflation and food insecurity, which has been worsened by the war.

Asked why there was no joint statement or communique from the meeting, Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that all involved agreed the meeting took place “under a very challenging and difficult situation because of the geopolitical tensions."

She said delegates had “expressed sympathy that Indonesia has to manage this situation."

But Indrawati and Indonesian central bank Gov. Perry Warjiyo said Indonesia would later release a G-20 chair's statement that would include two paragraphs describing areas where the participants failed to agree.

Indrawati said there were still issues that could not be reconciled, “because they want to express their views related to the war."

In the statement “related to the war there are still views that are different within the G-20," she said.

Indrawati outlined a range of areas where the members did agree, including the need to improve food security, to support the creation of a funding mechanism for pandemic preparedness, prevention and responses, on working toward a global tax agreement and on facilitating financing of transitions toward cleaner energy to cope with climate change.

“The progress is more than expected,"...