G7 Finance Ministers Meeting in Japan Pledge to Tackle Financial System Unrest

The Yomiuri Shimbun

5:00 JST, May 14, 2023

NIIGATA — Finance ministers and central bank governors of the Group of Seven advanced nations meeting in Niigata on Saturday said they will take appropriate measures to deal with financial system unrest that has been spreading in the United States and Europe since March.

They also agreed to strengthen cooperation on economic sanctions against Russia over its ongoing aggression against Ukraine.

The three-day finance meeting, which closed Saturday with the adoption of a communique, paves the way for further discussions at the G7 Summit that opens Friday in Hiroshima.

Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda attended the meeting.

“We reaffirmed our unwavering support for Ukraine,” Suzuki said at a press conference after the meeting. “We share the view that the financial system is resilient, and we remain vigilant and will continue to monitor developments.”

The communique states that the G7 ministers and governors will “address data, supervisory, and regulatory gaps in the banking system” in response to growing turmoil in the global financial system, which has included the failure of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States. The leaders stated that they “stand ready to take appropriate actions to maintain financial stability.”

The G7 leaders also confirmed that they would support Ukraine for as long as necessary and agreed to strengthen the enforcement of their sanctions imposed on Russia, targeting attempts to evade sanctions through non-sanctioning third countries.

In the field of decarbonization, including batteries for electric vehicles, the ministers and governors concurred on establishing a new framework to restructure related supply chains by the end of the year, apparently with an eye on reducing dependence on such countries as China.

Senior officials from six countries outside the G7, including India and Brazil, were invited to the meeting to discuss economic issues in emerging and other countries with the aim of sharing values with developing and emerging countries —known as the “Global South” — and seeking their understanding over measures to deal with Russia and China.