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Foreign ministers of the Group of 20 nations gathered Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro to discuss poverty, climate change and heightened global tensions as Brazil takes on the annual presidency of the bloc.<\/p>\n
The ministers and other representatives of the 20 leading rich and developing nations planned to spend two days setting a roadmap for work to accomplish ahead of a Nov. 18-19 summit in Rio.<\/p>\n
One of Brazil\u2019s key proposals, set by President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva, is a reform of global governance institutions such as the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and multilateral banks, where he wants to push for stronger representation of developing nations.<\/p>\n
Brazil\u2019s Foreign Minister Mauricio Vieira said Wednesday during opening remarks that the discussions would focus on the role that the bloc can play in \u201caddressing ongoing international tensions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBrazil is deeply concerned about the current international situation, regarding peace and security,\u201d Vieira told fellow foreign ministers, citing a proliferation of conflicts around the world – not just in Ukraine and Gaza, but in more than 170 locations, according to some studies.<\/p>\n
Vieira said more that $2 trillion a year is spent annually on military budgets globally and that more of that money should go toward development aid programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf inequalities and climate change do, in fact, constitute existential threats, I cannot avoid the feeling that we lack concrete actions on these issues,\u201d Vieira said. \u201cThese are the wars we must fight in 2024.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier Wednesday, Lula met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the capital, Brasilia, for about two hours to discuss the issue of global governance and other issues. Blinken, who is on a three-day trip to Brazil and Argentina, later headed to Rio for the G20 meeting.<\/p>\n
The pair also discussed the conflict in Gaza, including working urgently to facilitate the release of all hostages and to increase humanitarian assistance and improve protections for Palestinian civilians, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of State.<\/p>\n
They made no public comments on the diplomatic row between key U.S. ally Israel and Brazil following Lula\u2019s controversial comments comparing Israel\u2019s military offensive in Gaza to the Holocaust.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters on Sunday at the African Union summit in Ethiopia, Lula said that \u201cwhat is happening in the Gaza Strip and to the Palestinian people hasn\u2019t been seen in any other moment in history. Actually, it did when Hitler decided to kill the Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n