Making globalisation a win-win situation

Donald Trump and Angela Merkel met for talks the evening before the G20 summit got under way Photo: Bundesregierung/Kugler

Tomorrow morning the G20 summit begins in Hamburg. According to the Chancellor, it should provide impetus for shaping globalisation. She declared that she hoped to see a "win-win outcome". The motto of Germany’s Presidency, "Shaping an interconnected world", is appropriate for "all the challenges we will need to master here", said Angela Merkel on Thursday evening in Hamburg.

"We believe that for successful globalisation, free-rules-based, and fair trade is important." Developing the global economy and regulating financial markets remain key issues of the G20, she said.

On Thursday evening, the Chancellor met with American President Donald Trump in Hamburg. During their meeting, which lasted a good hour, they discussed some of the issues on the G20 agenda as well as foreign-policy hotspots including North Korea, the situation in the Middle East and the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs Sigmar Gabriel and his American counterpart Rex Tillerson also attended the talks.

Ukraine crisis to be discussed in Normandy format

With respect to the Ukraine crisis, efforts will be made in the Normandy format, and in conjunction with the USA, to identify solutions, stressed Angela Merkel. In Syria too the challenges are enormous, said the Chancellor. "In this context I hope that talks here on the sidelines of the summit will help. The G20 offers the opportunity to meet in smaller groups." This is an option which is not otherwise possible.

With respect to the "Partnership for Africa", which is one focus of Germany’s G20 Presidency, one goal is to foster women’s entrepreneurship, underscored Angela Merkel.

Germany has made global health another priority of its Presidency. "In the wake of the Ebola crisis, we now know that pandemics seriously jeopardise inclusive sustainable growth." That is why the question of the lessons we can learn from the Ebola pandemic will play an important role at the Hamburg summit, said the Chancellor.

Fighting terrorism together

At the start of the summit on Friday, efforts to fight international terrorism will be on the agenda – a topic that affects all of us. "We will be discussing this enormous challenge, and, I hope, will produce results that have the support of all sides," said Angela Merkel.

The summit, which is the highlight of Germany’s G20 Presidency, has been preceded by months of preparations on the part of both the Sherpas and civil society. "We will be endeavouring to incorporate all this in the discussions," said Angela Merkel, with a view to the G20 dialogue forums with the individual civil society groups held in the run-up to the leaders’ summit.

Difficult discussions can be expected on climate policy

Following the conclusion of the Paris Agreement, climate will be on the agenda in Hamburg. "As you can imagine there will be discussions on this topic that will not be particularly easy," stressed the Chancellor.

Angela Merkel discusses refugee agreement with President Erdoğan

The Chancellor also held a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. As well as the G20 agenda, they discussed the further implementation of the EU-Turkey agreement on refugees and both controversial and cooperative aspects of German-Turkish relations.

In addition, Angela Merkel met with Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who is attending the summit in his capacity as representative of the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), to share information.

Thursday, 6 July 2017

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