On the evening of Wednesday, February 21, Rio de Janeiro’s Mayor Eduardo Paes hosted a reception at the Palácio da Cidade for the group of foreign ministers who are in Rio de Janeiro for a preparatory meeting for the G20 Summit. The guests, who had earlier participated in a working meeting at Marina da Glória, were also welcomed by Brazil’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mauro Vieira, for cocktails and dinner. The reception featured appetizers and the traditional cachaça. There was also a live instrumental music performance with Brazilian classics and a presentation by the Rio samba school Imperatriz Leopoldinense, which showcased baianas in their traditional skirts and performed the samba-enredo “Liberdade, Liberdade! Abra as asas sobre nós.”
“You saw here a small presentation by a samba school. I told Minister Mauro that he should have organized this meeting a week ago, during Carnival. I’m sure you would have agreed on all the issues. Rio de Janeiro is a city that brings people together; it is a very open city. I hope it can inspire all of you to achieve the best results for the world,” said Mayor Eduardo Paes.
The dinner was attended by the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken; the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov; and the United Kingdom’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and former Prime Minister, David Cameron. Virtually all the G20 foreign ministers enjoyed the evening, including the ministers from France, Stéphane Séjourné; Germany, Annalena Baerbock; and South Africa (the country that will chair the G20 in 2024), Naledi Pandor.
Representatives from international organizations such as the United Nations, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and UNESCO were also present.
The G20 Summit will bring together representatives of the world’s largest economies in Rio on November 18 and 19. In the coming months, various meetings will be held in the city to discuss the topics that will be addressed during the summit.
