The Brazilian president reinforces advances in ethnic-racial equality, women’s empowerment, renewable energy and sustainability, as well as actions for Africa and improvements in access to water and sanitation.
At the closing of the G20 Brasil Leaders’ Summit on November 19, in Rio de Janeiro, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva outlined the main achievements of Brasil’s presidency of the forum. Some of the achievements highlighted by Lula included: the creation of the G20 Social Summit; the roadmap for improving the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs); the debates on Africa and external debt; the establishment of the Women’s Empowerment Working Group; and the inclusion of SDG 18 (Sustainable Development Goal), on ethnic-racial equality.
The Brazilian president also mentioned the definition of the principles on trade and sustainable development and the commitment to increase renewable energy production by 2023. The Coalition for the Local and Regional Production of Vaccines and Medicines and the promotion of investment in public policies to improve access to water and sanitation were also praised by Lula.
“This year, we held more than 140 meetings in 15 Brazilian cities. We have again issued consensus declarations by almost all the working groups. We have learned that the greater the interaction between the Sherpa and Finance Tracks, the greater and more significant the results of our work will be. We have worked hard, even though we know that we have only scratched the surface of the profound challenges facing the world,” Lula stated about Brasil’s G20 presidency.
Hope in the Global South
At the transition of the G20 presidency to Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa, Lula recognized the historical, cultural, political, and economic values that unite the African continent and Latin America. As by 2026 all the countries in the group will have held the presidency at least once, the Brazilian president said that this is “the right time to evaluate the role we have played so far and how we should act from now on. We have the responsibility to improve,” he concluded.
