United States Engagement with the G20 FACT SHEET OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON FEBRUARY 21, 2024

United States Engagement with the G20

FACT SHEET

OFFICE OF THE SPOKESPERSON

FEBRUARY 21, 2024

Secretary Blinken will travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting February 21-22 to deepen cooperation and tackle issues of global concern including food insecurity, climate change, global health, workers’ rights, and geopolitical instability.  The United States, together with our partners, is taking concrete actions to build a more prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive global economy that delivers good jobs, food, energy, and health security for all.  In addition to G20-related engagements, the Secretary will participate in a meeting of the foreign ministers of the G20 and invited partners to address the humanitarian crisis in Haiti and to rally support for the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission.

The G20: An Important Forum for International Economic Policy Coordination

The United States strongly supports Brazil’s themes for this meeting on reducing geopolitical tensions and global governance reform.

The G20 provides a platform for the United States to engage directly with the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies to promote U.S. interests and meet global geopolitical and socioeconomic challenges with other G20 members which account for more than 80 percent of global gross domestic product, three-quarters of global trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population.

Secretary Blinken will engage with his counterparts from G20 members and invited partners.

Reducing Geopolitical Tensions

The Kremlin’s unprovoked war against Ukraine remains a standing affront to the UN Charter that Russia as a member of the UN Security Council should uphold. Russia’s war continues to remind us why we must defend the principles of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity embodied in the Charter. Russia’s war of aggression is also killing and wounding thousands, displacing millions, and exacerbating global food and energy insecurity. Russia’s actions are undermining the work the G20 is so diligently trying to advance.

The United States is working every day to keep the Israel-Hamas conflict from spreading, while urging protection for civilians and increasing access to humanitarian aid.

Houthi maritime attacks disrupt freedom of navigation and the flow of global trade, including food and humanitarian assistance to the region. The United States, with our allies and partners, mobilized over 40 countries to issue a statement condemning the attacks in support of Operation Prosperity Guardian.

We will also highlight U.S. support for a Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission to Haiti and work to galvanize further international contributions.

Reinforcing the United States Commitment to Food and Health Security at the G20

Feed the Future—the U.S. government’s flagship global food security program—works with partner countries to transform their food systems to be climate resilient, more equitable, and economically empowering.

The United States is taking strong actions to build climate-smart, resilient food systems. That includes building a coalition and mobilizing resources to advance the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils. In support of that Vision, leaders across governments, industries, civil society, and communities are coming together to tackle the food security and climate crises by focusing collective attention and resources on the fundamentals of agriculture: climate-adapted crops and healthy, fertile soils.

The United States remains focused on improving global health by accelerating investment in the health and well-being of communities across countries. We welcome the opportunity to work with our partners on collective efforts that are essential to meeting global Sustainable Development Goals, including catalyzing continued support for the Pandemic Fund.

To address the public health and security threats posed by synthetic drugs, the United States launched the Global Coalition to Address Synthetic Drug Threats in 2023, which now includes over 144 participating countries and 12 international organizations.

Supporting Global Governance Reforms

The United States is committed to incorporating more geographically diverse perspectives in multilateral institutions and ensuring they are responsive to the needs of the full global community. The United States supports UN Security Council expansion, including support for new seats for countries from Africa and Latin America. We supported the African Union becoming a permanent member of the G20 and the new International Monetary Fund Executive Director seat for Sub-Saharan Africa.

Our commitment to inclusion extends to the field of artificial intelligence. The G20 and our partners must also work together to seize the opportunities of AI to advance the sustainable development goals, and to ensure safe, secure, and trustworthy AI, driving a balanced approach where all countries can benefit from AI, while working together to manage the risks of technological disruption.

The United States is working to advance a Multilateral Development Bank (MDB) Evolution for building bigger and better development banks that can lend more, provide more concessional financing, mobilize private capital, and make MDBs faster and more agile.