German Finance Minister Christian Lindner attended numerous meetings in Washington from 12–14 October. In his talks with international partners, he discussed the most pressing fiscal policy issues of global significance. Key priorities included the global economic impact of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, rising inflation, international debt, and efforts to fight the climate crisis.

Heavily indebted countries in financial distress require efficient solutions that are coordinated at the international level. To this end, in 2020 the G20 adopted the Common Framework for Debt Treatments, which aims to put an effective and sustainable debt treatment scheme in place. The Common Framework makes it possible to coordinate and implement customised debt restructuring plans on a case-by-case basis that can also include debt cancellation.

The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors came together in Washington, D.C. on 13 October 2021 as part of the annual meeting of the IMF and World Bank Group. At this fourth meeting under Italy’s G20 presidency, discussions focused on implementing the agreed reforms to the international tax system in a timely manner, ensuring a sustainable economic recovery and enhancing international coordination and cooperation in the fight against climate change. Other items on the agenda included further support for low-income countries and financial market issues. The G20 finance ministers and central bank governors issued a communiqué at the end of their meeting.

Under the auspices of the OECD, 137 countries (as of 28 December 2021) have reached an agreement on a fair allocation of taxing rights and a global minimum effective tax at a uniform tax rate of 15%. This is a genuine revolution in international tax law. The basic approach was approved by the finance ministers of the 20 leading advanced and emerging economies – the G20 – at their meeting in Venice on 9–10 July 2021. At a further meeting in Washington, D.C., on 13 October 2021, ministers reached agreement on the remaining technical details and approved a roadmap for implementation.

The Group of 20 comprises the 19 leading advanced and emerging economies plus the European Union. Formed in 1999, the G20 is the main forum for discussing the international regulatory framework.

While the G20’s decisions are not legally binding, its members make voluntary commitments which carry considerable political weight. We have put together an overview of the communiqués from the meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors, as well as some key documents and summit declarations issued since 2008. These documents are available for download in PDF format.

Indonesia has held the presidency of the Group of 20 since 1 December 2021. For more information, please refer to the website maintained by the host country.