Gandhinagar, India, July 19: The new head of the World Bank said Tuesday that growing divides between rich and poor nations risked deepening poverty in the developing world, at a meeting of G20 finance ministers in India.
Many countries are still recovering from the double blow of the coronavirus pandemic and fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine — which hit global fuel and commodity prices.
Climate change, meanwhile, is most painfully affecting some of the poorest countries least able to cope.
The G20 talks come after Russia on Monday refused to extend a deal allowing critical Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, sparking outrage from the United Nations, which has warned millions of the world’s poorest would “pay the price”.
South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana warned it was “likely to have an impact on food prices, which will more heavily impact poorer nations”.
German central bank chief Joachim Nagel told AFP it had been “really strange” to have been holding meetings “discussing how to help the vulnerable countries” — as Russia withdrew from the grain deal.
