New Delhi: Leaders of the world’s 20 major economies called for a global pact to combat hunger, more aid for war-torn Gaza, and an end to hostilities in the Middle East and Ukraine, issuing a joint declaration on Monday that was heavy on generalities but short on details on how to accomplish those goals.
The joint statement was endorsed by group members but fell short of complete unanimity. It also called for a future global tax on billionaires and for reforms allowing the eventual expansion of the United Nations Security Council beyond its five current permanent members.
At the start of the three-day meeting, which formally ends Wednesday, experts doubted Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva could convince the assembled leaders to hammer out any agreement at all in a gathering rife with uncertainty over the incoming administration of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, and heightened global tensions over wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Argentina challenged some of the language in initial drafts and was the one country that did not endorse the complete document.
