Yellen to travel to Japan for G7 finance ministers meeting

By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to Niigata, Japan next week to participate in the Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers and central bank governors meeting, the Treasury Department said on Wednesday.

Treasury said Yellen would work with G7 partners to strengthen the global economy, including by coordinating on efforts to encourage and align domestic investments, and address the spillover effects of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

G7 finance ministers and central bankers will meet in Niigata, Japan, from May 11-13, a month after the International Monetary Fund trimmed its 2023 global growth outlook slightly and warned that a severe flare-up of financial system turmoil could slash output to near recessionary levels.

The IMF is now forecasting global real GDP growth at 2.8% for 2023 and 3.0% for 2024, marking a sharp slowdown from 3.4% growth in 2022 due to tighter monetary policy.

Yellen will also reaffirm the G7’s leadership in the coalition supporting Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s war and its role in setting up a price cap on Russian oil, Treasury said. It said the price cap was continuing to deny Russia revenue to fund the war while keeping energy markets stable.

Supply chains will be a big topic throughout the trip, Treasury said.

“She will work with partners to deepen resilient supply chains, including among low- and middle-income countries, and advance economic security,” it said in a statement.

Yellen will hold a press conference on May 11 in Niigata, where she will also take part in other engagements and hold bilateral meetings with counterparts, Treasury said.

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