"The proposals of the Brazilian presidency were very well accepted," says the Brazilian sherpa

Ambassador Mauricio Lyrio evaluates the first meeting of the G20 as "very productive" and says that the Group agrees with the need for the work to point towards concrete results, which make a difference in people's lives. "There is full agreement among countries on the need for progress in the fight against hunger and poverty"

"It is a consensus among the countries that the fight against hunger, poverty and inequality is an urgent issue, which needs global efforts," Lyrio said during a press conference at the end of the first meeting of the Sherpa Track under the Brazilian presidency, on 11/12. "The development issue is central to this G20 and both rich and developing countries, as well as development banks and world institutions need to get involved in solving the problems," said the Brazilian sherpa.

He said that, since the first day of the Brazilian presidency of the G20, a concept note on the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, to be constituted from the task force proposed by Brazil, has been circulating among the member countries. Moreover, he stressed that developing countries have virtuous experiences in the fight against hunger and poverty that should be considered in the discussions and decisions of the G20. "There is a full agreement between the countries for this topic to move forward in a concrete way."

Innovations of the Brazilian presidency

The first day of meetings focused on discussing the working methods that the Group will adopt from now on, approving the innovation proposals made by Brazil. In addition to the commitment to concrete decisions, there is the rapprochement of financial and political discussions from the beginning of the work and the incentive to dialogue with civil society, including receipt of contributions and proposals throughout the process. "We agreed not to disperse efforts in texts that do not have real impacts on people's lives," he said.

Lyrio added that there are different ways for countries to deal with and view the issues, but that the priorities stipulated by Brazil for this year's discussions were very well accepted. "Everyone agrees that it is urgent to address the reform of global governance, of world institutions," he said. "The climate issue, for example, encompasses an important financial aspect and is not a trivial discussion, as we saw at the COP. But we agree that it is an issue to face," he stressed.

He also said that inequalities of all kinds will be addressed in the Working Groups, since it is a "cross-cutting issue." One example, among several, are the discussions of the Digital Economy Group: "You can't talk about the topic without considering the inequalities in access to technology," Lyrio exemplified.

The Sherpa Track meeting continues next Tuesday, 12/12, and will discuss, in a more detailed way, the priorities proposed by Brazil in its mandate: the fight against hunger, poverty and inequality; sustainable development and climate change and global governance reform.

December 13 (9am to 5:30pm): Joint Meeting of G20 Sherpas, Vice-Ministers of Finance and Vice-Presidents of Central Banks;

December 14 and 15 (9am to 4pm): Meeting of G20 Vice-Ministers of Finance and Vice-Presidents of Central Banks.

Throughout the Brazilian mandate, more than 100 meetings of the working groups and task forces that make up the G20 are planned, both face-to-face and virtual, of the two tracks (Sherpa and Finance), at the technical and ministerial level, in host cities of the five regions of Brazil. The highlight will be the summit to be held in Rio de Janeiro.