US' Yellen Chairs 5 Fin Mins Meeting w/AUS, CAN, NZ & UK

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has chaired a meeting of the 'Five Finance Ministers' from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK. This composition matches that of the 'Five Eyes' intel exchange organisation. Readouts focus on the joint work countries can do in combating impacts of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and seeking to reduce supply chain disruption.

• UK gov't readout states: "The ministers shared perspectives on global economic challenges and reflected on the distinct challenges stemming from Russia’s illegal and unprovoked war against Ukraine. The ministers also discussed the need for cooperation to respond to the threat and use of economic coercion. [...] develop greater resilience against global supply chain disruptions caused by Russia’s war, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, [...]. The ministers [...] reaffirmed their commitment to deepen cooperation to further shared priorities in the Indo-Pacific and beyond."
• The Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance is seen as a geopolitical effort to counter Russian and Chinese actions in the Indo-Pacific, and the establishment of a Five Finance Ministers group doubles down on this stance. Likely to raise concerns in Beijing, Moscow and other capitals aligned with those countries of cooperation between these large economies policies intended to economically isolate non-US aligned countries.