(VOVWORLD) -Foreign ministers from the G20 group of nations gathered in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday to discuss world tensions and ways to improve multilateral organizations in preparation for their annual leaders' summit.
 G20 leaders to discuss global governance |
Brazilian President Luiz Ignacio Lula da Silva has made reform of global governance a top priority for the G20 this year, along with curbing climate change and reducing poverty.
With ongoing combat in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, diplomats are not optimistic that proposals to improve global governance will advance easily within the group of the world's largest economies.
The two-day meeting began with a report assessing the global situation and the ongoing conflicts.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov are scheduled to face each other across a table for the first time since they spoke briefly face-to-face at last year's foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi.
Brazil wants to hold a second G20 foreign ministers' meeting in September during the UN General Assembly in New York to advance talks on global governance, with all UN member states invited to take part.