There will be three working sessions spread over two days (today, Monday, June 18, and tomorrow, Tuesday, June 19).

The principal goal of the leaders will be to find a way to overcome the crisis and get the world economy growing again.

The European crisis will probably dominate the conversation. President Dilma will explain measures taken by Brasília to confront international financial problems through consumption stimulus packages and domestic investments.

Dilma will take advantage of the opportunity for bilateral discussions with leaders who will not attend the Rio+20 conference, such as Barack Obama of the United States and Angela Merkel of Germany, to push for agreement on the wording of the Rio+20 United Nations Sustainable Development Conference final document that has to be approved by June 22.

Brazil Denies Entry

A participant of the UN Summit in Rio de Janeiro was denied entry into Brazil by the Brazilian authorities.

Jeremias Vunianhe, a journalist and member of Friends of the Earth Mozambique, was denied entry at the airport of Rio on June 13, despite carrying a valid visa and a valid accreditation at the UN Rio+20 Summit as part of Friends of the Earth International delegation.

Findings by AkanimoReports showed that Vunianhe was expected to expose the negative impacts of Brazilian mining corporation Vale at the Peoples Summit, a parallel event of the UN Rio+20 Summit. Vale is one of the official sponsors of the UN Summit. The activist did not get any explanation as to why he was sent back to Mozambique.

Friends of the Earth Mozambique supported hundreds of Mozambican families which were resettled by Brazilian company Vale in the Moatize district and carried out demonstrations in recent months to reclaim their rights.

While Friends of the Earth International has received a commitment from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Jeremias will be brought back to Rio this Monday, they are demanding a public explanation and excuses from the Brazilian government.

In Rio de Janeiro, Friends of the Earth International is campaigning against the growing influence of big corporations and business lobby groups within the UN, through government delegations, and in multilateral negotiations.

They are requesting a clear public statement from the UN that its priority is to serve the public interest and not business interests, and a commitment to take concrete steps that will limit industry’s influence in UN decision-making processes.

They say they believe that as a host country Brazil should ensure that the freedom of expression prevails over the interests of corporations and guarantee the right of people to protest.

To Lula, the simple fact that so many nations have sat around the same table to discuss the world economy is historical.

The leaders set March 31 as the deadline for elaboration of proposals turned to regulation of financial markets. A new summit is scheduled for April 30. Proposals will be created by workgroups comprised of government officials, technicians and businessmen.

Activities will be coordinated by the triumvirate of the G-20 – Brazil, which currently presides over the group, the United Kingdom, which will be the next presiding country, and South Korea, which should head the G-20 in 2010.

"I, who have been the president of Brazil for six years and already attended 300 meetings, in which I had individual debates with all of the leaders, can only say that today is a historical day for world politics," said Lula, shortly before heading back to Brazil.

According to him, six or eight months ago, it would be impossible to imagine that the G-20 was going to meet and make the unanimous decisions that it has made so as to take better care of the international financial system, of the Doha Round, and to collectively define "what must be defined in the world economy."

The G-20 has also advised its ministers to meet by late December, in an attempt to reach a conclusion of the Doha Round, which has been going on for seven years already. To Lula, the G8 – an exclusive group comprised of the world's most industrialized countries, plus Russia, which meets once a year to set the guidelines of the world economy – is not over, but has become a "group of friends" that will go on meeting with each other.

"The fact is, given the political strength, the representation of the countries in the G-20, I believe that there is no logic whatsoever anymore in making decisions regarding economy and politics without taking this forum into consideration. I am pleased," he stated.

According to the president, all of the leaders agree that there is a need for better managing the financial world and decisions must be made collectively.

"I sensed a maturity that I had not seen in a long time. I have always witnessed lots of reluctance, people not willing to talk to each other, people being somewhat distrustful. After this crisis, we realize that everyone has become really humble," he asserted.

According to Lula, the message of this meeting is that from now on, the leaders of wealthy and emerging countries that answer to 85% of the world's GDP are going to act in a more cohesive, coordinated manner. "This brings hope and a large dose of optimism to the world in this moment of crisis."

ABr

Lula da Silva made his comments Saturday before meeting with US President George W. Bush and other world leaders in Washington to discuss the global financial meltdown.

"Emerging economies have to be taken into consideration in today's globalized world. If all the presidents are in agreement on this I think we can show humanity this crisis will be resolved with faster than expected", he emphasized.

"We are talking about the G-20 because the G-8 (of industrialized economies) doesn't have any more reason to exist", added Lula da Silva who said the old global financial architecture controlled by big rich nations has been "rejected by history".

The Brazilian leader currently holds the chair of the G-20 and sat shoulder to shoulder with President Bush during the meeting.

"Emerging market countries were not the cause of this crisis, but they are amongst its worst affected victims," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the group.

"India is experiencing this negative impact. After growing at close to 9% per year for four years, our growth rate is expected to slow down" to between 7 percent and 7.5%, Singh said.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the summit was a productive start. What matters now are the follow-up actions, Zoellick.

"People are looking to leaders for a global, coordinated and fast response." In particular, he called for government spending programs to stimulate national economies, and said China had demonstrated leadership with its 580 billion USD stimulus package. "Further decisive actions will be needed," he said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao was under pressure at the weekend meeting to use China's 2 trillion USD in reserves to help expand an International Monetary Fund stability fund. Beijing has yet to respond directly to such suggestions but Hu was pressing Western leaders to give developing countries a bigger role in such global financial institutions, a measure that analysts say might be a condition for a Chinese contribution.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said at a news conference that it would be up to the IMF most influential members, the United States and European countries, to determine whether developing countries would be given a greater say.

He added that countries can achieve influence in several ways, including greater voting rights and being added to the IMF board.

Mercopress

US President George W Bush said that finance ministers would now work on detailed reform proposals, and then report back. His successor in the White House, Barack Obama, said in a statement that he was ready to work "together on these challenges" with the G-20 when he takes office in January.

"The president-elect believes that the G-20 summit… is an important opportunity to seek a coordinated response to the global financial crisis," said a statement issued in his name.

The meeting brought together leading industrial powers, such as the US, Japan, Germany and France and also emerging market countries such as China, India, Argentina, Brazil and others – representing 85% of the world economy.

For the leading emerging economies, the significance of this G-20 summit was clear – they now have to be taken into consideration in the management of the global economy.

Brazil's President, Lula da Silva, said: "We are talking about the G-20 because the G-8 doesn't have any more reason to exist."

Key issues agreed by world leaders at this summit included: a) reform of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund;

b) an agreement by the end of 2008, leading to a successful global free-trade deal;

c) improvements to financial market transparency and ensuring complete and accurate disclosure by firms of their financial conditions;

d) making sure banks and financial institutions' incentives "prevent excessive risk taking";

e) asking finance ministers to draw-up a list of financial institutions whose collapse would endanger the global economic system;

f) strengthening countries' financial regulatory regimes;

g) taking a "fresh look" at rules that govern market manipulation and fraud.

In his address at the end of the summit, Mr Bush said there was no doubt that the financial crisis facing the United States and many other countries is a severe one.

He said it had even been conceivable that the US "could go into a depression greater than the Great Depression".

"We are adapting our financial systems to the realities of the 21st century," he said.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the global financial structures created at the end of WWII were now inadequate.

"It will be necessary to rebuild the whole international financial architecture, make it open and fair, effective and legitimate".

The stalled Doha round of global trade talks should be pushed forward so that a basic agreement can be reached before President Bush leaves office in January, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"If there is the political will, it would be good if we could reach an agreement in the Doha round with the present US administration."

In their joint closing statement, leaders said the reforms would only be successful, if they were "grounded in a commitment to free market principles".

G-20 leaders say they will meet again by 30 April, 2009, to review progress.

The next summit looks set to be held in London, with US President-elect Barack Obama attending.

Although no formal decision has been announced, France's President, Nicholas Sarkozy, made it clear that he expects London to be chosen as the venue, particularly because the UK will be presiding over G-20 in 2009.

The G-20 group of countries consists of 19 leading industrialized and developing countries, as well as the European Union. Holland and Spain participated as special guests from the UE presidency currently held by France's Nicolas Sarkozy.

Started in 1999 its standing members are the G-8 (Germany, Canada, France, Italy, US, UK, Japan and Russia) plus Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, China, India, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Korea Turkey and the EU.

Mercopress

"Now is the time to formulate proposals for a substantial change in the global financial architecture," he stated.

The president said that the crisis emerged in nations with advanced economies, therefore those nations must take initiatives for coordinated international action. He asserted, however, that emerging countries must play an active role in formulating and implementing solutions.

"The G-7 is not in a position to see this process through by itself," he declared, alluding to the group of the world's seven wealthiest nations.

To him, now is the time for more open and participative "governance," "and Brazil is ready to take on this responsibility." "This is not the time for individual solutions," said Lula, who stated that a "pact" must be made among governments in order to create this new international financial architecture.

"Multilateral institutions must adapt themselves to a new reality, with greater participation from emerging countries," he said. The guidelines for the "new architecture," according to Lula, must be: representativeness and legitimacy of international regulatory organizations, collective action, good governance, credit incentives, improved regulation, supervision and assessment of global market risk, transparency, and the seeking of financial balance by governments in their respective countries. "The political responsibility of each country must not cause harm to others," he said.

According to the president, the G-20, which is comprised of the wealthiest nations and the emerging economies, can make an important contribution to this process due to its relevance. "The overcoming of the crisis depends on cooperation among these two blocs, with input from the international community," he stated.

To Lula, the time has come for political action. "The crisis was born out of blind faith in the capacity of markets to regulate themselves and, to a great extent, out of lack of control over financial agents," he claimed.

"This system tumbled down like a castle of cards and, along with it, dogmatic faith in the principle that government must not intervene in the economy. Many of those who abhorred such interventions are now desperately calling for help from the government," he said.

According to the president, his main concern is the threat of a global recession leading to job losses and increased poverty. "We cannot allow the panic that has gripped various areas to reach the productive sectors," he said. "It is up to us, global leaders, to show responsibility and serenity, and not let ourselves be contaminated with fear," he claimed.

Lula asserted that the developed nations and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) must implement measures in order to restore liquidity to international lines of credit, as the shortage of foreign funding affects the balance of payments in many countries.

The president also stated that the crisis damages trade, because wealthy countries start lowering their imports, therefore the emerging ones lower their exports. He claimed that protectionism in finance and trade must be avoided, because the example of the crisis of 1929 shows that this type of action will lead to an even greater depression.

In that respect, Lula said that "now is the moment for a final boost in the Doha Round for the liberalization of global trade. "Greater openness is an excellent antidote to the crisis," he said.

"The round is no longer an option, it is a necessity. There is a good set of proposals on the table, and we must address the problems with grandeur. The wealthy countries must not increase their demands on emerging nations," he stated.

To him, "human lives" are at stake and billions of people expect global leaders to be up to the challenge of facing the crisis.

Anba – www.anba.com.br

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Lula said it was up to the United States and Europe to tear down the barriers to farm trade that poor countries claim are preventing them from developing their economies.

"If we wish to send a signal to the poorest countries on the planet that they will have an opportunity in the 21st century, it is necessary that the United States, Britain, France and Germany, that these countries should assume responsibility," he said.

Lula da Silva insisted that if rich countries accept concessions, Brazil will comply with its share of responsibility and help convince the Group of 20 to act consequently, "proportionaly to their capacities".

However the address avoided going into details of the global trade negotiations and comes a day before top trade negotiators from Brazil, the U.S., the 27-nation European Union and two dozen other countries are scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in an attempt to find a way forward in the Doha round talks.

Lula, a regular guest at the Davos Forum said he had talked to U.S. President George W. Bush, French President Jacques Chirac and others about the necessity of completing the trade talks that were launched in 2001.

"I didn't talk to God, because I think he's done enough for us already," added Lula da Silva in a light touch to an otherwise serious speech that also criticized the U.S. for the war in Iraq.

The Doha talks have been stalled over clashes between rich and poor countries on slashing subsidies and tariffs, particularly for farm goods. The US and the EU have also been at loggerheads over agriculture support and export subsidies.

"It is necessary that the U.S. and the EU reach an agreement because otherwise there's no agreement," underlined Lula. Negotiators are trying to forge the blueprint of a deal before July, when US President Bush's special authority from Congress to make trade deals expires.

Without the so-called "fast track" authority, it would be much harder for any treaty to gain congressional approval in the U.S., the world's largest trading nation. Without Washington's inclusion, any global commerce deal would be meaningless.

Lula said Brazil was prepared to do its part after rich countries give ground underlining that it is "necessary that the businessmen and women of the world should participate actively in convincing the rulers of the developed countries that it is necessary to reach an agreement".

If no agreement is reached on the Doha round, "it can't be replaced by financial help to the poorest areas of the World", because it's only real possibilities of economic growth and investment "that can ensure us a freer and safer world, free of terrorism, drugs cartels and organized crime".

But in spite of Lula da Silva's apparent leadership in the G-20, back in Brazil there's growing skepticism about the country's significance in a globalized world.

In contrast to what happened in 2003 when Lula was a star during the Davos meeting, this year there seems to be very little interest in Brazil and the whole of Latin America.

Charles Dallara, the managing director of the Institute of International Finance (IIF), commented: "There is less interest in Lula's visit this time, because all the attention of the emerging countries is turned to China and India, and Brazil is being left behind."

For Dallara "the key for Brazil to accelerate its economy is tax reform, the reform of Social Security, a reduction of the government's role in the economy and a bigger opening."

This week Lula da Silva announced a program to accelerate growth, PAC, during his second mandate to 2010 involving US$ 245 billion  mainly for infrastructure. However most of it will have to be supplied by the private sector and no word was mentioned about structural reforms demanded by the business community.

For many world economists and leaders, the Brazilian package is not enough to promote sustainable growth. They would like to see structural reforms that would change the way Brazil taxes businesses and consumers, as well as reform the social security and the judicial system.

The day before the Minister had participated on an informal meeting conducted by the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy, about the status of Doha Round negotiations, which must be concluded at the December meeting, in Hong Kong.

Still in Geneva, Amorim will have bilateral meetings with representatives of several countries, including members of the group of European ex-colonies from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP), African Group, and with Relatively Less Developed Countries.

Monday, November 7, in London, England, the Minister met representatives of India, the United States, European Union to also discuss the Doha Round.

ABr

On Friday and Saturday, September 9 and 10, Amorim, coordinated ministerial meetings of the Group of 20. On the agenda, the bloc’s agricultural negotiating strategies for the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Doha Round, in preparation for the WTO’s Sixth Ministerial Meeting, scheduled for December, in Hong Kong.

According to information furnished by the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations (Itamaraty), on the first day the meetings, Amorim commented on the central role of the G-20 in the Doha Round, emphasizing that the united action altered the content and format of the negotiations.

The G-20 was founded in August, 2003, during the preparatory phase of the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the WTO, in Cancun, Mexico, to defend the mutual interests of developing countries with regard to agricultural issues.

The group has presently 19 members: five from Africa – South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe; six from Asia – China, Philippines, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Thailand; and eight from Latin America – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Paraguay and Venezuela.

The G-20 represents 13% of the global GDP (Gross Domestic Product, that is, the sum of all goods and services produced by a country or group of countries) and 21% of the global agricultural GDP, 57% of the world’s population, and 70% of the world’s agricultural population.

It also accounts for 26% of world agricultural exports and 62% of global sugar production, 50% of global coffee production, 62% of global soybean production, 54% of global cotton production, 72% of global rice production, and 70.5% of global tobacco production.

Brazilian victories in the WTO against US cotton subsidies and European sugar subsidies were cited by the Pakistani minister of Commerce at the opening of the meeting.

He also mentioned the importance of the union among developing countries in combating distortions in the way agriculture is treated in the sphere of international commerce, and he underscored the role played by Brazil and India in coordinating the work of the G-20, which has led to positive results.

According to the Itamaraty, at a private meeting with the Pakistani Prime Minister, Amorim delivered a letter from President Lula, expressed gratitude for the visit by Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, to Brazil last year, and examined areas of potential bilateral cooperation, such as ethanol and aviation.

Minister Amorim is the first high Brazilian government official to visit Pakistan in 20 years. Since the visit by the Pakistani president to Brazil last November, official and business contacts between the two countries have become more intense. According to the Itamaraty, there are prospects for negotiating an agreement between Pakistan and the Mercosur.

Minister Amorim will take advantage of being in Pakistan to meet with president Pervez Musharraf and Foreign Minister, Kurshid M. Kusuri, for discussions on bilateral cooperation in energy, ethanol and aviation.

Agência Brasil