Atlanta: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned G-20 Foreign Ministers that interconnected economic and geopolitical crisis were threatening global energy supplies, food markets, trade and freedom of navigation.
Opening the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta, Rubio said the challenges confronting the international community were interconnected and required collective solutions.
“We are facing a series of interconnected economic and geopolitical crisis, many of which pose severe threats,” Rubio told ministers gathered for the two-day meeting.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is leading the Indian delegation at the meeting.
Rubio identified disruptions to global energy and food supplies, international trade, supply chains and freedom of navigation as major challenges facing the world’s leading economies.
He said the G20 had a responsibility to confront these threats, strengthen economic resilience and protect markets and the economies they support.
The US Secretary of State said the challenges addressed during President Donald Trump’s G20 presidency were multifaceted and interconnected, requiring responses that recognised their wider economic and geopolitical implications.
The meeting, he said, could help establish conditions for greater geopolitical stability and advance the economic prosperity agenda that G20 leaders would subsequently consider.
Rubio placed particular emphasis on the responsibility of foreign ministers and diplomats to coordinate responses to emerging crisis.
“We are tasked, on behalf of the nations that we serve, to work together with one another to coordinate responses to emerging crisis and to protect our shared interests,” he said.
“By translating our shared interests into practical cooperation and real action, we can reinforce global stability,” Rubio said.
He added that such cooperation could deliver meaningful results for citizens across G20 member countries.
The opening plenary was structured around two issues that have become increasingly important to international economic security: freedom of navigation and food security.
“We’re going to cover two issues in this plenary session, freedom of navigation and food security,” Rubio told the gathering.
The decision to place these subjects at the centre of the opening discussions underscored the meeting’s focus on the relationship between geopolitical tensions and economic stability.
Freedom of navigation is particularly significant for international commerce because major maritime routes carry energy shipments, agricultural commodities, manufactured goods and other essential supplies.
Disruptions to shipping can affect transport costs, delivery schedules and access to critical commodities across international markets.
Food security is closely linked to the availability and movement of agricultural products, fertilisers and energy supplies. Interruptions in these markets can affect food production and prices, particularly in countries dependent on imports.
Rubio said ministers would discuss the two subjects separately during the opening plenary, with each delegation given an opportunity to intervene.
The G20 brings together major developed and emerging economies, including India, the United States, China, Russia and members of the European Union. Its discussions cover economic cooperation and challenges affecting global growth and financial stability.
India, as a major energy importer and participant in international trade, has a direct interest in the security of maritime routes, reliable supply chains and the availability of essential commodities. These issues also featured prominently in the agenda of India’s G20 presidency in 2023.
(IANS)
