Foreign Affairs Minister and International Development Minister conclude successful G20 Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting

The Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Karina Gould, Minister of International Development, today concluded their participation in the G20 Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting in Matera, Italy.

Minister Garneau highlighted the value of multilateralism with his G20 counterparts and emphasized the need to focus on supporting developing countries. He also underlined Canada’s interest in working together toward an inclusive and resilient recovery and revitalizing an effective rules-based international system.

In addition to participating in the joint Foreign and Development Ministers’ Meeting, Minister Gould joined her counterparts virtually to discuss solutions to our most pressing development challenges, including financing for sustainable development.

Both ministers underscored Canada’s support for the G20 Matera Declaration, which is a call to action for all participating countries in response to the effects of the pandemic on agriculture and food security.

During his visit, Minister Garneau had fruitful bilateral meetings with his counterparts from France, India, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore and Spain.

Quotes

“The G20 offers a unique opportunity to strengthen collaboration with the world’s most advanced economies to address pressing challenges. Canada is committed to continuing to defend and champion multilateral efforts and the rules-based international system in working toward an inclusive, resilient recovery.”

– Marc Garneau, Minister of Foreign Affairs

“Through the G20, Canada comes together with our global counterparts to consider issues that matter deeply to Canadians, such as food security, health systems and climate action. The pandemic has underscored how truly interconnected our world is and how essential collaboration is to finding shared solutions to global challenges.”

– Karina Gould, Minister of International Development

Quick facts

• G20 members consist of the world’s major economies and represent all inhabited continents, 80% of global economic output, 60% of the world’s population and 75% of international trade.
• Italy assumed the G20 presidency on December 1, 2020, focusing on 3 broad, interconnected pillars: people, planet and prosperity.