Washington, 17 April - The first session of the interministerial G7 at the Spring Meetings in Washington and chaired by Economy and Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti opened with a discussion on Ukraine (Minister Sergii Marchenko was also present).
"We encourage the IMF, the World Bank and all other relevant financial institutions to continue supporting Ukraine and its macroeconomic stability." Giorgetti also invited Marchenko to the Financial G7 to be held in Stresa from 23 to 25 May.
"The G7 countries have renewed their full, shared and steadfast support for Ukraine," says Giorgetti, "renewing the country’s confidence that it will be able to overcome its difficulties.
Reforms of the multilateral development banks, IMF updates and the health and finance agenda were also the central focus of the meeting. On the topic of international taxation, Giorgetti emphasised the importance of continuing the work already done at the G7 and G20 in São Paulo to achieve the goal of signing the convention by the end of June this year.
"It is important to maintain a high degree of coordination among the G7," the minister said on the sidelines, “especially if the discussion progresses along lines that are not fully shared.
The G7 discussed Russian frozen assets, a topic that sees the Italian presidency grappling with 'a very delicate task,' Giorgetti said. An issue that could have "non-trivial" legal implications. Much will depend on the outcome of the votes in US Congress, which "should see some positive developments over the weekend," the Italian Economy Minister told the press on the sidelines of the IMF Spring Meetings. The issue is at the top of the priorities of the technical teams studying the dossier ahead of the G7 meeting in Stresa.
Giorgetti also spoke about the public accounts, stressing that the government is working towards debt stability. "We had a one-off effect related to the Superbonus" that distorted the deficit and debt figures in the coming years.
Regarding the IMF forecasts, the Minister recalled that "the Monetary Fund is always very cautious and historically tends to underestimate growth forecasts for Italy. This comforts me, because if we take the average underestimation of previous years, it means that the 1 percent forecast is perfectly realistic".
In a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the Spring Meetings, Giorgetti met with Lael Brainard, Director of the National Economic Council, and held talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, focusing on the G7 agenda, international tensions, and the economic opportunities offered by the green transition.
With his Ukrainian counterpart Sergiy Marchenko, who attended the G7 meeting on April 17, the Minister reviewed the critical situation of Kiev's economy, which urgently needs external assistance. With the President of the African Development Bank Group, Akinwumi A. Adesina, he discussed cooperation with the Bank and the Mattei Plan.