Brazil holding first G20 ministerial summit

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

​​​​​​​MEXICO CITY (AA) - Brazil is holding its first G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting on Wednesday.

Ministers from the world's largest economies are gathered in Rio de Janeiro with Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip and the Russia-Ukraine war taking center stage on the agenda.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who pushed the international community to unite in a peace bloc to resolve the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, took the rotating presidency of the G20 from India in December.

The attendance of representatives from the US, Russia and China underscores the relevance of the diplomatic event in the face of global tensions.

Lula's role as president of the G20 and the ministerial meeting follows his recent comments about Israel where he compared Tel Aviv’s offensive to the Holocaust.

In addition, Lula has been critical of the current state of global governance and institutions for failing to prevent armed conflicts worldwide.

The summit is set to push for the reform of key institutions such as the UN, World Bank, World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who arrived Wednesday in the Brazilian capital, praised Brazil as a key partner for "global peace and security issues."

The US diplomat is set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for the first time since the Foreign Ministers' meeting in India last March.

The G20 Leaders Summit, which brings together the world's 20 largest economies, will be held in Rio de Janeiro in November.