End of Germany's Presidency
Argentina assumes G20 Presidency
Argentina assumes the G20 Presidency on 1 December 2017. And with that Germany's G20 Presidency also officially ends. The next G20 Summit will be held in Buenos Aires in late 2018. The two countries have been working closely together to ensure a smooth handover.
The G20 Presidency rotates between its members. The G20's 19 member countries are therefore divided up into five groups comprising a maximum of four countries each. The EU, the 20th member, is not a member of any of these groups. Each year a different country from a different group assumes the G20 Presidency.
After Argentina, Japan will assume the G20 Presidency in 2019, Saudi Arabia in 2020.
Close cooperation between the two Presidencies
As an informal forum, the G20 has no permanent staff of its own. Instead, the so-called G20 Troika ensures that the G20 agenda is carried forward and tasks are effectively handed over. The Troika comprises the current Presidency (Germany), the previous Presidency (China) and the next Presidency (Argentina).
Over the past 12 months ministers and senior officials from China, Germany and Argentina met several times for coordination meetings. The sherpas, who are responsible for preparing the substantive content of topics addressed at the summit meetings, have been cooperating particularly closely. Officials from the other members of the Troika also provide support to the current Presidency.
A video message from Chancellor Angela Merkel to be shown during the opening event in Argentina forms part of the official handing over of the G20 baton, so to speak.
G20 agenda carried forward
In principle each Presidency is responsible for preparing those issues which are to be addressed. The ongoing fields of work of the G20 – like the global economy, trade and the international financial architecture – are on every Presidency agenda. Nevertheless, the Troika is also responsible for ensuring that topics brought up during the previous Presidency are continued under the new one.
For example, Argentina will keep "the future of work" and the focus on health policy issues on the G20 agenda. The Partnership with Africa launched under Germany's Presidency will also continue. The same goes for the fund created to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries, which was set up on the initiative of the German Presidency.
Handover of the G20 website
On 1 December Germany will also hand over the official G20 internet domain. Germany's G20 Presidency website will then no longer be updated, but will still be available at www.g20germany.de. New articles about the G7 and G20 will be available at www.bundesregierung.de/G7G20. For more information about the Argentinian G20 Presidency, go to www.g20.org.
Friday, 1 December 2017