Andrea Shalal, David Lawder

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is urging her G20 counterparts in order to end the COVID-19 epidemic in developing countries. She will also urge them to ensure they have sufficient resources to sustain an equitable recovery.

Yellen will participate via videoconference in the Group of 20 major economy finance ministers meeting.

A U.S. Treasury official outlined U.S. priorities at the meeting. This comes as COVID-19 variant cases in rich countries are declining, but they are rising in developing countries. The host country Indonesia had 57,049 cases added to its daily records on Tuesday.

Southeast Asia’s biggest country originally intended to host an in-person G20 finance conference in Bali. But the event was moved to Jakarta in January. It became a hybrid meeting with several officials taking part virtually.

Official said that Yellen will push the G20 to adjust their policies according to country conditions to achieve an inclusive recovery. She also urged the G20 not to leave out poorer countries from vaccine access.

The official stated that this includes the support of efforts by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to eliminate global bottlenecks in vaccine, diagnostic, and therapeutics deployment.

Yellen will also urge the G20 to help fund a global fund that is housed at The World Bank for pandemic preparedness and prevention. Its estimated cost of $75 billion makes it a bargain compared with COVID-19’s human and global economic costs.

Yellen will also express her confidence in the ability of 136 countries to maintain momentum and reach an agreement on a global 15% corporate tax. This will allow it to be implemented by 2023.

Official said that the U.S. Congress supports the broad support of the international tax provisions.

“Secretary Yellen expects them to be part of any Build back Better bill passed,” she said. The official was referring specifically to U.S. president Joe Biden’s bill for climate and social investments, currently stalled at Congress.

Yellen plans to pitch more aggressive climate action in order to reach carbon emission reduction targets. She will mobilize more private capital and finance the transition to fossil fuels. The official stated that public resources are able to facilitate additional private financing in order to reduce emissions.