Secretary Blinken will travel to New Delhi, India, to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, to deepen cooperation and tackle pressing global challenges from strengthening food, energy, health, and women’s security to spurring investments in clean technology, and advancing progress toward achieving sustainable development goals. In contrast to Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, which continues to exacerbate global food, energy, and economic insecurity, the United States, together with our partners, is taking concrete actions to build more stable, prosperous, and climate-resilient economies worldwide.  In addition to attending G20-related engagements, the Secretary will hold a bilateral meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar.

The G20: An Important  Forum for International Economic Policy Coordination

• The G20 provides a platform for the United States to engage directly with the world’s largest advanced and emerging economies to promote U.S. interests and meet global challenges. G20 members account for more than 80 percent of global gross domestic product, three-quarters of global trade, and two-thirds of the world’s population.  The agenda of the G20 has broadened since the 2008-2009 financial crisis and this is the first meeting of G20 Leaders to include political and social issues that intersect with relevant economic interests.

• As the current G20 president, India is hosting the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting from March 1-2, in New Delhi, India. The United States strongly supports India’s G20 priorities to provide action-oriented solutions to global challenges, including strengthening food, health, energy and women’s security, countering terrorism and counternarcotics, and deepening cooperation on renewable energy and sustainable development.

• Secretary Blinken will engage with his counterparts from G20 members and invited partners.

Reinforcing the United States Commitment to Food, Health, Energy, and Women’s Security at the G20

• Multilateralism is critical to mobilizing collective action to tackle global challenges, including global food insecurity, global health, the climate crisis, energy insecurity, and building a prosperous and sustainable global economy.  The United States is committed to supporting effective and accountable multilateral fora and institutions.  We work closely with our international partners to ensure accountability for results, at both the activity and institutional levels.

• Since before the crisis began, the United States has been at the forefront of efforts to mitigate global food insecurity.  We have dedicated $13.5 billion in U.S. humanitarian and food security assistance since February 2022. The United States is increasing agricultural capacity and resilience with programs that work with families to protect food security and livelihoods and ensuring basic prerequisites for improved agricultural production such as good soils and crop varieties adapted to climate change are in place.

• On the margins of the U.S. Africa Leaders Summit, the United States and African Union (AU) established a Joint Strategic Partnership on Food Security.  As part of the partnership, the United States and AU delegations on food security have agreed to create joint task forces to deliver on the commitments in the joint statement.

• We are committed to addressing the long-term resilience of food systems, especially in countries hardest hit by food security shocks by mitigating worldwide fertilizer shortages.  In 2022, the U.S.-led Global Fertilizer Challenge surpassed its initial $100 million goal, by raising $135 million in new funding to combat food insecurity by increasing fertilizer efficiency and improving soil health.

• The Black Sea Grain Initiative is another example of our joint efforts to strengthen global food security.  This initiative is a literal life saver for vulnerable people around the world.  It ensures Ukrainian grain can reach the global market and has brought food prices down for everyone. It is imperative that the G20 speak up on behalf of sustaining and scaling up the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

• To mitigate global energy insecurity and price spikes, the United States coordinated with members of the International Energy Agency to release around 180 million barrels of oil from our strategic reserves to maintain supply to the global market and stabilize prices, with partners releasing another roughly 60 million barrels.  Through this collective action, the United States and its allies shielded consumers worldwide against supply disruptions caused by Putin’s unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine.

• We are committed to addressing the proliferation of illicit synthetic drugs and the fundamental global drug challenge this presents.  The G20 is uniquely positioned to mobilize collective action on this type of global health and security problem.

• The United States remains focused on improving global health by accelerating investment in the health and well-being of communities across countries.  We welcome the opportunity to work with our partners and allies on collective efforts that are essential to safeguarding global sustainable development goals.

• Under the new U.S. strategy, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) will invest $1.28 billion annually to support more than 325,000 health care workers who deliver HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs.  PEPFAR continues to support HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs, even in conflict areas such as in Ukraine, where PEPFAR is providing life-saving support to Ukrainians living with HIV.

Supporting  Ukraine and Addressing Global Impacts from Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion

• Russia’s brutal affront to the international rules-based order – the order that undergirds prosperity and peace for us all – cannot stand.  The United States will continue to hold the Russian Federation to account for its unprovoked and unjust war of choice against Ukraine, including in multilateral institutions and bodies.  Russia’s war against Ukraine blatantly violates UN Charter principles, undermining the rules-based international system that has brought global stability and development for the past 75 years.  Russia’s war against Ukraine has delivered a fresh blow to global growth prospects and hopes for progress toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

• The United States will continue to engage with G20 and other international partners to address the immense humanitarian challenges stemming from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, especially the damaging effect the Kremlin’s war of aggression has had on global food and energy security.  The G20 must hold Russia accountable now for its failure to respond to UN efforts to reopen the sea lanes for grain delivery.

• The answer to meeting these challenges is close international cooperation and clear resolve to ensure such brazen aggression does not go unchecked.  We must hold those responsible to account; there can be no return to business as usual with the Kremlin while it wages its unconscionable war.