Pedro Sánchez highlights Spain's contribution and commitment to the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty

Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, greets the President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the beginning of the G20 Summit (Pool Moncloa / Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has travelled to Rio de Janeiro to take part in the G-20 Summit, one of the multilateral forums that sets the international agenda of the world's main economies. Pedro Sánchez has been received by the President of Brazil and host of the summit, Lula da Silva.

Spain faces this year's summit with a constructive attitude to address issues such as the reduction of poverty and inequalities, the fight against climate change, gender equality and the defence of rules-based international trade. For Spain, the G-20 is an essential instrument to show Spain's commitment to multilateralism and international cooperation to find common responses to the main global challenges.

In a G-20 that is very much marked by geopolitical realities, Spain continues to defend the principles and values of the UN Charter and respect for international law, in all contexts and at all times. "This applies to Ukraine, Palestine and Lebanon", the president defended in the second session of the summit, which dealt with the reform of the institutions of global governance. In this regard, Pedro Sánchez stressed that respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries must be guaranteed, as must compliance with international humanitarian law in all conflicts. Spain has become established as one of the few countries with a veritably coherent approach to the geopolitical situation.

The president also stressed that important reforms must be undertaken to adapt the institutions of global governance to a changing world. In this regard, he stressed the need for a strong multilateral system with the UN at its core. In this line, he said that "it's time for more visible female leadership, with a woman as the next Secretary General and gender alternation in the presidency of the General Assembly", a postulate he has defended on more than one occasion.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, together with the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Olaf Scholz, greets the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping, during the G20 Summit | Pool Moncloa / Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

Second, he reiterated the urgency of reaching agreement on the World Trade Organisation, advocating that the World Health Organisation should stay at the core of the international global health architecture. In this regard, Pedro Sánchez announced that Spain is earmarking almost €60 million for the WHO Investment Round, stressing that this is a substantial increase in financial support to ensure that the organisation can carry out its functions reliably and effectively in the face of future challenges.

Launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty

Within the framework of the summit, the President of the Government took part in the Launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, one of the priorities of the Brazilian presidency of the G-20. It is an alliance that aims to eradicate hunger and poverty by 2030 through political momentum, knowledge and financing. Under the leadership of Lula da Silva, Brazil has been very vocal in the area of social inclusion and the fight against hunger.

During the main session of the summit, which addressed social inclusion and the fight against hunger and poverty, the president stressed that it is a privilege for Spain to be one of the first countries to join the alliance, underlining the country's commitment to help make a real impact, with political impetus and funding. "Because there is no more important and urgent cause than fighting to eradicate hunger and drastically reduce poverty and inequalities", he said.

In this regard, he highlighted the fact that Spain is fulfilling its objectives, referring to the increase in the minimum wage by more than 50%, as well as the creation of a Minimum Basic Income, which is already protecting more than 2 million citizens.

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, attends the launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty | Pool Moncloa / Borja Puig de la Bellacasa

Pedro Sánchez pointed out that food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty are aggravated by climate change. "It is imperative that we step up our efforts in the fight against climate change. Because climate change kills. We have just seen it in my country", said the president, referring to the floods in Valencia. He also called on all G20 countries to provide the necessary impetus to ensure a successful negotiation at COP29 to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Last, Pedro Sánchez referred to the need to review financing for development to eradicate hunger and poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), highlighting the opportunity presented by the IV International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Seville next year to take bold decisions. In this regard, he stressed that the reform of the international financial architecture requires concrete commitments to make it more inclusive, democratic, accountable and responsive to the needs of developing countries.

He also stressed the need to promote policies to improve tax fairness, and advocated a global tax on the wealth of the super-rich, as proposed by the Brazilian presidency.

"Spain is ready to lead by example," the president reaffirmed. To this effect, Pedro Sánchez has announced that Spain will commit €400 million in the next replenishment of the International Development Association (IDA), an amount that represents an increase of almost 40% compared to the previous replenishment.

Non official translation