Latest news with #G-6
Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
G-7 finance leaders try to downplay tariff disputes, find consensus
G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors sit down for their first meeting in Banff, Canada. PHOTO: REUTERS BANFF, Alberta - Finance leaders from the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialised democracies sought on May 21 to downplay disputes over US President Donald Trump's tariffs and find some common ground to keep the forum viable as they met in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Participants said the G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors were striving to issue a joint communiqué covering non-tariff issues, including support for Ukraine, the threat from non-market economic policies of countries including China, and combating financial crimes and drug trafficking. At the meeting in Banff, Alberta, the finance leaders want to avoid a G-7 fracturing similar to the last time Canada hosted the group in 2018 during Mr Trump's first term, when his initial steel and aluminium tariffs made a joint statement impossible. That meeting, described as the 'G-6 plus one,' ended with Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Britain and Italy expressing 'unanimous concern and disappointment' over Mr Trump's tariffs. Mr Trump's tariffs are far more extensive this time, but G-7 sources said there was an effort to find compromise with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. 'Italy continues to work so that the final compromise communique can be reached. A step we consider crucial,' Italian Economy and Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti said in a social media post. Other ministers were more willing to live without a joint statement as long as the group reached a better understanding on trade imbalances. 'This G-7 meeting allowed us to progress toward a better alignment on the support of Ukraine, on reducing global imbalances and on growth policies,' said French Finance Minister Eric Lombard, who has a bilateral meeting set with Mr Bessent. 'And making progress is what matters ultimately. It's not just a question of agreeing on a statement today for the sake of it.' Ukraine discord But G-7 delegation sources said it remained unclear whether the leaders could agree on joint communiqué language. One European source said, for example, that US officials wanted to delete language describing Russia's invasion of Ukraine as 'illegal' from the draft. Mr Giorgetti said that Italy is pushing a proposal to bar countries that have done business in support of Russia's war effort from being part of Ukraine's reconstruction. The idea echoes what Mr Bessent said in April that 'no one who financed or supplied the Russian war machine will be eligible for funds earmarked for Ukraine's reconstruction.' China has been key in helping Russia circumvent Western sanctions and has served as a conduit of high-tech and battlefield goods such as drone components. Delegates were discussing a possible lowering of the US$60-a-barrel G-7 price cap on Russian crude oil. 'We expect a thorny discussion on the price cap,' one of the officials said. The EU is pushing to lower the price level as it works on an 18th package of sanctions against Russia aimed at Russian energy and the financing of sanctions circumvention. 'There is no agreement yet on the communiqué, but it's fundamental that we get this communiqué. It would be serious if not agreed,' a European official said. 'At the end of the day, we are only seven countries.' Calming influence A second European official said Mr Bessent's participation in the meeting and efforts to try to find common ground provided some comfort to the group, describing him as 'flexible.' 'At the dinner last night, Bessent was very open and not rigid. He talked about working for a solution,' the official added. A US Treasury spokesperson declined to comment on the G-7 deliberations. A US source briefed on Mr Bessent's positions said on May 19 that Washington would not agree to a joint statement unless it served US priorities, which include stronger G-7 steps to combat non-market practices such as China's subsidies that have led to excess manufacturing capacity. 'The message we're passing on to Bessent is that tariffs are not the correct response to dealing with global imbalances,' another European official said. At the same time, Mr Bessent was holding bilateral meetings with G-7 counterparts, agreeing with Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato that the current dollar-yen exchange rate reflects fundamentals, according to a US Treasury statement that added they did not discuss specific currency levels. Japan is seeking to negotiate a tariff-reducing trade deal with the US. Mr Bessent also was meeting with France's Mr Lombard and Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne on May 21 after a first meeting with Germany's new Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil. A German source at the G-7 meeting described the discussion as an open and constructive exchange that lasted longer than planned, and the two men agreed to meet again in Washington after Mr Bessent extended an invitation. Japan, Germany, France and Italy all face a potential doubling of US duties to 20 per cent or more in early July. Britain negotiated a limited trade deal that leaves it saddled with 10 per cent US tariffs on most goods, and host Canada is still struggling with Mr Trump's separate 25 per cent duty on many exports. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Arab News
16-03-2025
- General
- Arab News
Ramadan on patrol: Pakistani policeman balances duty with devotion in Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: As the daylight fades and residents sit together to break their fast amid a call for Maghreb prayer in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, the call for duty rings louder for Constable Malik Muhammad Ikram than the call to iftar, compelling him to break his fast with a date and water. The 47-year-old, who has been serving in the Islamabad police for 18 years and is currently part of their Dolphin patrolling squad, says he is proud of efficiently discharging his duty, which takes on a different meaning in Ramadan that not only tests his endurance but also his devotion to faith. Ikram's duty schedule remains the same in Ramadan as any other day of the year, with an eight-hour shift varying between 7am-3pm, 3pm-11pm or 11pm-7am. But the fatigue feels different while fasting, he says. 'Indeed, performing our duties during Ramadan feels different,' he told Arab News while on duty in Islamabad's G-6 sector within the remits of the Aabpara police station. 'Nonetheless, it is our responsibility and our profession. We can choose to work with a positive attitude or do it out of obligation, so we try to do it happily.' The capital city police department doesn't provide any formal iftar or sehri meals but offers whatever it can to on-duty staff, according to Ikram. The policemen manage to have quick sehri meals before heading out for duty on most days, and if not, they swing by a government mess or food stalls at the nearby G6 market to munch something quickly. Ikram, who leads a team of three other cops, says the iftar hour is particularly 'unpredictable' as they often break their fast with dates, water and fruit while being caught up in patrolling, chasing suspects or responding to emergency calls. 'If we're on duty during iftar, we have to manage on our own,' he said. 'If there's a station nearby, we go there but there are times, when the Azaan is being called and we're going for some task.' Ikram recalls how he received an emergency call from the police control room about an accident near Zero Point just when he was about to break his fast this month and had to rush to the site to respond to the situation. 'If we are having iftar and we get a call regarding an emergency case or an accident, we have to leave everything and respond to the call,' he explained. 'We also need to report our response time to the control room, letting them know how long it took us to respond after receiving the call.' He said he was able to save a young man's life following that call from the police control room. 'I felt really happy from the bottom of my heart,' he said, reminiscing the moments like this that remind him why he had joined the police force. 'The life of the man was saved due to timely treatment.' For a policeman, being patient is part of the job, particularly in Ramadan, as fatigue and hunger could flare up tempers that hampers their duty, according to the 47-year-old. 'We have to tolerate our anger because it's the public,' he said. 'Our profession and nature of duties are such that anger cannot work here and we have to be patient.' Recalling another incident, he said they were stationed near a traffic signal in the G6 sector when his team signaled two youths riding a bike to stop, but they sped up and were eventually stopped after a long chase. 'We verified and found out that their bike was stolen. That's why they tried to flee,' he said, highlighting that his team calmly handled the situation even though it could have turned tense. Ikram says he is often assigned to the Red Zone, a high-security area housing key government buildings, embassies and key institutions, where the shift runs up to 16 hours even during Ramadan, but he accepts it as part of his calling. The 47-year-old, whose other family members have also served in police, says he always wanted to contribute to the society's betterment, which was the reason he joined the force. 'If there is an emergency during Ramadan, duty comes first,' he said. 'I took up this profession because firstly, it's all about Rizq (livelihood) — Allah had written our Rizq in this profession. Secondly, it was my personal choice to join the Islamabad police.' Looking back at his years of service, Ikram says he finds fulfillment in small yet powerful moments. 'Iftar and suhoor are secondary. Duty is our responsibility, and the government pays us for it. So, duty always comes first,' he said as he picked up his radio and moved on with the routine patrol while fasting with an unwavering faith.
