Marrakesh, Morocco: Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said Friday he expressed his grave concern over the clashes between Israel and Palestinian militant forces when he attended a meeting of top finance officials of the Group of 20 major economies in this North African city.

Although a joint statement adopted unanimously by the G-20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs did not touch on the massive attacks on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas, participants from multiple countries in the two-day meeting through Friday condemned the attacks, according to Suzuki.

In a press conference held after the closing of the G-20 meeting, Suzuki said, “We should pay attention to the risk of increased volatility in financial markets, including foreign exchange markets, as monetary tightening continues.”

Suzuki also said, “I explained (at the G-20 meeting) that excessive volatility in exchange rates is not desirable and that appropriate measures may be required in some cases.”

Referring to the G-20 top finance officials’ adoption of their first joint statement in seven meetings, Suzuki said: “Based on the agreement between the (G-20) leaders, we were able to agree on all points of the outcome document. Harsh accusations against Russia are also being shown.”

Attending the same press conference, Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said, “There was no change in views that would significantly affect the global economic outlook (through the series of meetings in Marrakesh).”

JIJI Press