<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, expressed this Monday his support for the global tax on wealth, proposed by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inázio Lula da Silva, and announced that Spain will contribute 400 million euros to the World Bank to finance projects in the poorest countries.</strong></h4> “There is no other cause more important or urgent” declared the head of the Executive during his speech, behind closed doors, at the thematic meeting on social inclusion, the fight against hunger and poverty of the G20 Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro and in which he is accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and by his wife, Begoña Gómez. Therefore, he continued, “we must promote measures such as a global tax on the wealth of large fortunes, as you propose and we defend together, President Lula.” This tax on large fortunes, whose purpose is to finance the sustainable development goals (SDG) and climate objectives, has generated strong discrepancies and everything indicates that, if it is mentioned in the final declaration of the Summit, it will be in a very "watered-down" way, according to sources from Moncloa. In addition, the President of the Government assured that Spain is "willing to lead by example in the fight against hunger" and, therefore, announced that his Government will deliver 400 million euros to the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank entity that provides aid to low-income countries under very favourable conditions and that complements the work of the original World Bank lending entity, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). This contribution was announced at the end of last October by the Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, within the framework of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund, held in Washington. This is an increase of almost 40% compared to the previous cycle of replenishment of IDA resources and allows Spain to raise its total contribution to more than 5 billion euros since the Association was created. The announcement comes just a few weeks before the final meeting of the twenty-first replenishment of IDA resources (IDA-21), which will take place in December in Seoul and will conclude with contribution commitments by States. According to a recent World Bank report, the 26 poorest countries in the world, where 40% of the people most affected by poverty live, are more indebted than ever since 2006 and are increasingly vulnerable to natural disasters and other crises. The leaders or representatives of the 19 member countries of the G20 (Germany, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, the USA, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Russia, South Africa and Turkey), plus the African Union and the European Union, are participating from this Monday and until Tuesday in the G20 Summit, organized by the Brazilian Presidency. Despite not belonging to the G20, Spain has participated since 2010 as a permanent guest (it is the only country with this status). The Summit brings together all the leaders of the G20, except Vladimir Putin. Among the attendees is, for the first time in years, the president of China, Xi Jinping, who will hold bilateral meetings. During the day on Monday, two thematic meetings are held on social inclusion, the fight against hunger and poverty and on the reform of the institutions of global governance (in both with the participation of Sánchez). Except for Lula, host of the meeting, all the leaders intervene behind closed doors. During the meeting on the reform of global governance, Sánchez warned of the need to have a strong multilateral system with the United Nations at the centre and of the urgency of reaching an agreement on the reform of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). He also highlighted the central role of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the global health architecture and reported that Spain is going to allocate almost 60 million euros to the WHO Investment Round, a “substantial increase” in financial support to ensure that the organisation can carry out its functions reliably and effectively in the face of future challenges. Sánchez also took advantage of his speech - according to government sources - to warn that the effects of the recent DANA in the Valencian Community show that climate change "kills", and that it is therefore necessary to redouble international efforts in this area. "Climate change kills" was, verbatim, the same message conveyed by the head of the Executive last week during the Climate Summit (COP29) in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. Within the framework of the Summit, the President of the Government has participated in the Launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, one of the priorities of the Brazilian presidency of the G-20. It is an Alliance that seeks to eradicate hunger and poverty by 2030 through political impetus, knowledge and financing. According to Sánchez, Spain has been one of the first countries to join this initiative. Sánchez is in Rio de Janeiro accompanied by his wife, Begoña Gómez. Both were received this Monday upon their arrival by Silva. Gómez's presence in Brazil prevented her from appearing before Judge Juan Carlos Peinado on Monday, despite being summoned, in the context of an investigation into two alleged corruption crimes. The appointment has been postponed until December 18. Apart from the official reception of Lula, Sánchez's agenda on Monday included bilateral meetings with the prime ministers of Vietnam (Pham Minh Chinh), Canada (Justin Trudeau) and Australia (Anthony Albanese), and with the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva.
