New Delhi, 11 September 2023 (TDI): The Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida in the third session of the G20 Summit, “Our Future”, on September 10, discussed about promoting multilateral reforms globally.
The Japanese Prime Minister while stressing reforming multilateral systems, highlighted the need to work on sustainable growth of developing countries.
In this regard, he pointed out that Japan would work on the evolution of multilateral development banks to meet the development needs of developing countries.
Moreover, he stated it is vital for creditor and debtor countries to share the importance of transparent and fair development finance that complies with international rules.
He added that such efforts need to be discussed at the G20 Summit as well.
He also emphasized that for dealing with the debt problem of developing countries it is important to carry out debt restructuring through the Common Framework for Debt Treatments beyond the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).
Furthermore, speaking about investing in infrastructure, the Japanese Prime Minister highlighted that while investing in infrastructure the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment should be implemented and promoted.
In correspondence to that, he shared that Japan has announced its new plan for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) in March 2023 that will mobilize more than 75 billion dollars in public and private funds for the infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific region by 2030.
Besides that, Prime Minister Kishida focused on strengthening the functions of the United Nations and particularly reforming the Security Council to promote multilateral reforms.
He added that the reformation of the Security Council holds sheer impetus and hopes that this effort could be transferred into proper action cooperatively with a view to events like the UN Summit of the Future in 2024.
In talking about the universal health systems, the Japanese Prime Minister stated that it’s important to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC), as well as to strengthen Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPR) for a possible next health crisis.
Moreover, he stated that the provision of prompt and efficient funding in times of crisis is also quite important.
He highlighted that the G20 has confirmed the importance of strengthening the delivery of medical countermeasures (MCM) which was advocated at the G7 Hiroshima Summit
He added that Japan would like to work with G20 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank, and other partners in this regard.
Apart from discussing the issues related to health, the Japanese Prime Minister talked about digital technology and its importance in issues of economy and governance.
In this regard, he stressed that he would take the lead in discussing efforts to materialize the concept of Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) and the creation of international rules to avoid the challenge of information manipulation.
Furthermore, Prime Minister Kishida stated that it is necessary to maximize the potential of generative AI while reducing its risk and using it to contribute to the growth of the entire world, including developing countries.
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While talking over international taxation, he stated that a multilateral treaty should immediately open for signature to prevent trade disputes related to the digital services tax and to stabilize the international taxation system at an early stage.
He reiterated that G20 countries should sign it by the end of this year.
In addition to that, he restated Japan’s support for the membership of the African Union (AU) in the G20, considering the increasing role African countries played in the international community.
Apart from discussing future course of action in reforming multilateralism globally, the Japanese Prime Minister also raised concerns regarding the Russia-Ukraine Crisis, global food insecurity, climate change, fair trading system, SDGs, international disparities, and much more in other sessions of the G20 Summit.
