Pedro Sánchez stresses Russia's disruptive role after last night's attacks on Ukraine

Bali (Indonesia)

During the Summit, marked by Russia's war in Ukraine, the leaders discussed the food and energy crisis, global health and digital transformation.

Earlier today, the President of the Government of Spain took part in an emergency meeting of G20 members who are partners and allies of the EU and NATO, where it was agreed to issue a joint communiqué condemning Russia's bombardment of Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, and expressing support and solidarity with Poland while the events that led to the deaths of two Polish citizens early this morning are being investigated. They also reiterated their support for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people vis-à-vis the war of aggression against them.

Pedro Sánchez began his speech in this third session by condemning the attack on Ukraine and the deaths of two people in Poland and by showing his solidarity with the Polish people, a country that is an ally of Spain in both the European Union and NATO.

At the end of the G20 Summit, the President of the Government of Spain stressed the importance of the Declaration agreed by the G20 because "it reflects the unequivocal condemnation by the vast majority of countries gathered here of Putin's unjustified war of aggression, and it affirms that Russia, through its actions, is the main cause of the food and energy crisis we are experiencing".

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, together with other leaders of the European Union and NATO attending the G20 Summit, at the meeting to analyze the situation in Poland | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa y Pool G20

Sánchez underlined the importance of the Declaration, agreed by the entire G20, which states that the use of nuclear weapons, or even the threat to use them, is unacceptable. Countries also reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, multilateralism and international law.

This Declaration also addresses the major global challenges facing the world, such as food security, energy security, climate change, pandemics and global health, the serious economic problems caused or aggravated by Russia's war in Ukraine, gender equality and migration.

On food security, Sanchez highlighted the call to renew the 'Black Sea Grains Initiative', which expires on 19 November. So far, this initiative, sponsored by the United Nations and Turkey, has allowed more than 11 million tonnes of grain to be taken out of Ukraine. He also highlighted the European Union's Solidarity Lanes, which has allowed 15 million tonnes of Ukrainian agricultural products to be exported, making the price of cereals on world markets more moderate and therefore more affordable for the countries that need them most.

On climate issues, the Declaration reaffirms the G20's ambition, in line with the vision defended by Spain. "The war should not be used as a pretext for slowing down or backtracking on decarbonisation commitments, but rather it further underlines the urgency of accelerating the deployment of renewable energy and the green transition," the president stressed.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during the visit of the G20 leaders to the Taman Hutan Raya Ngurah Rai Mangrove Forest | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa y Pool G20

On global health, G20 leaders reconfirmed the creation of the 'Pandemic Fund', under the umbrella of the World Bank and associated with the World Health Organisation, to assist low- and middle-income countries.

The G20 addressed the serious economic problems caused or exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine, the effects of which are especially being felt by many developing countries, by calling on countries that are in a position to do so but have not yet done so to contribute 20% of the Special Drawing Rights allocated in 2021 to IMF instruments, such as the Fund for Resilience and Sustainability, to which Spain is the first country to contribute.

The President of the Government of Spain stressed the importance of the fact that, despite the current international situation, the G20 has dealt with two essential issues for Spain, gender equality and migration. The latter part, agreed thanks to the impetus of Spain and other partners, recognises the contribution of international migration to economic development; the need to strengthen collaboration between countries of origin, transit and destination; and the importance of promoting orderly, legal and safe migration.

Once again, Spain was present both at this forum and at all the preparatory meetings, aiming to make progress on the issues for which Spain is recognised in the world today: commitment to the ecological transition, to a digital transformation focused on people, and to equality between women and men. "These are the signs that best identify Spaniards: peace and human rights, environmentalism and feminism, equality and solidarity; and precisely for this reason, this is the voice of Spain today at the G20," stressed the Chief Executive

Spain's digital transformation

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, during his appearance after the closing event of the G20 Summit | Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa y Pool G20

The President of the Government of Spain, during his speech at the plenary session on digital transformation, highlighted two aspects in this area. First, the importance of digitisation with a humanistic vision. Spain's strategy in this regard focuses on people's rights, so that digitalisation not only empowers governments and businesses but also citizens and workers. In fact, our country was pioneer in publishing a Charter of Digital Rights for the protection of individual and collective rights in the digital environment.

The other aspect highlighted by Sánchez is the need to improve digital security in a broad sense. The president advocated the importance of building a culture of cybersecurity, developing consensus-based standards and building strong certification schemes. The president also spoke of the importance of developing a collective and legally binding framework for regulating autonomous lethal weapons.

Spain at the G20

Over the two days of the G20 Summit, the Government of Spain developed an intense bilateral agenda. In this regard, aside from taking part in the plenary sessions, the President of the Government of Spain held bilateral meetings with the President of the People's Republic of China and the Prime Minister of Singapore.

Non official translation