Trudeau talks root causes of hunger at G20, will meet with Biden, other leaders

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden discussed the importance of democracy the rule of law during a meeting the G20 summit in Brazil.

A statement from the White House says Biden and Trudeau talked about the economy, climate change, migration and defence, just weeks before president-elect Donald Trump takes office.

The statement says Biden “underscored the importance of Canadian defence investment and the modernization of the Columbia River Treaty.”

It also says both leaders “agreed that strengthening democracy and rule of law were essential to the prosperity and success of North America.”

The meeting came a day after The Associated Press reported that Biden has authorized Ukraine to use American-supplied missiles to strike deeper inside Russia.

The two were meeting at the G20 summit in Brazil, where President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has made poverty the subject of the opening discussion among leaders.

Trudeau told a morning summit that gender equality has to be part of any solution to solving global poverty and hunger.

Media were not able to hear Trudeau’s remarks, but his office says he discussed Ottawa’s efforts to not only fund emergency relief but also to address the root causes of hunger in global food systems, including the need to reform multilateral and development-financing institutions.

Trudeau’s office said he highlighted that the world is at a critical moment where global instability and inequality are undermining the international rules-based order, just as armed conflicts are leading to displacement and migration.

Following that session, Trudeau met with his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni.

He also met with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, just days after Trudeau voiced concerns about high levels of Chinese investment in Mexico. That issue is a potential hindrance to trade for the North American allies, given that Canada has followed the U.S. in imposing steep tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles.

Trudeau also has meetings scheduled Monday with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2024.