Finance chiefs from the Group of Seven industrialized nations on Sunday reaffirmed their "unwavering" support for Ukraine, Japan's Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said, as Russia's aggression against its neighbor continues.
The G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors did not discuss recent developments in the foreign exchange market, Suzuki told reporters after their meeting in India, at a time of financial market jitters over future monetary tightening in major economies.
Last week, the G-7 leaders pledged to provide military equipment, training and intelligence, among other forms of support, as Ukraine has begun its counteroffensive against Russia.
The rich club is also committed to giving financial support to Ukraine to help it cope with the impact of the Russian invasion since February 2022.
"We reaffirmed that we will not waver in support of Ukraine," Suzuki said after chairing the G-7 meeting on the fringes of a financial gathering of the Group of 20 major economies in the western Indian city of Gandhinagar.
Besides Japan, which holds this year's presidency, the G-7 also involves Britain, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and the United States plus the European Union.
Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko joined Sunday's meeting virtually.
The G-7 finance ministers discussed their coordinated response to Russia as a slew of sanctions against Moscow remain in place. They also took up the issue of global tax reforms targeting multinationals, which is also on the agenda of the G-20, but not forex moves.
The yen has seen a quick reversal of its recent slide against the U.S. dollar, partly because of slowing inflation in the United States that has prompted market participants to pare back expectations of further aggressive rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
The Fed and the Bank of Japan are scheduled to hold a policy-setting meeting in late July, respectively, amid speculation that the dovish Japanese central bank may modify its program to keep borrowing costs at rock-bottom levels. Japan's key gauge of inflation has remained above the BOJ's 2 percent target for over a year.
BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda told reporters after the G-7 meeting that inflation has been slowing but remains elevated, adding that uncertainty over the global economy is "high."
The yield curve control program has been blamed for distorting bond markets as the BOJ has been seeking to keep 10-year Japanese government bond yields within a narrow range.
Ahead of the G-20 finance chiefs' meeting on Monday and Tuesday, the G-7 ministers underscored the need to meet the goal of implementing tax reforms in 2025 and urge multinationals like tech giants to pay their fair share.
Nearly 140 nations and jurisdictions have decided to push back the time frame for a multilateral treaty on digital service taxation by a year from 2024 to prepare domestic legislation and ratify it.
The treaty, which is scheduled to be signed by the end of this year, is designed to better reflect the reality of the digital economy as taxing rights have been given to a country where a company has a physical presence under long-held rules.
Related coverage:
G-7 justice chiefs reaffirm support for Russian war crimes probe
G-7 says will closely coordinate over Russia amid alleged uprising
Japan boosts cooperation with NATO, aid for Ukraine
