The G20 summit of the twenty major economies concludes in the Argentine capital on Saturday, where member countries can finally agree on a common communiqué. At the final press conference, the president of the host country, Mauricio Macri, expressed his satisfaction that the summit had concluded. Agreement on the wording of the communique was uncertain for a long time, as member countries had different opinions on a number of topics, for example on trade or climate protection.
“We agreed on a joint statement that addressed a number of important topics,” Macri said. The document contains 31 points and addresses a wide range of topics, including development, infrastructure, future jobs, sustainability, digitalization, and equality between men and women.
Summit participants identified support for reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO) as the most significant agreement. The change in WTO functioning has to be the most extensive in the organization’s 24-year history.
“The G20 group has for the first time acknowledged that the current WTO is not achieving its goals and needs to be reformed,” the representative of the American delegation said on condition of anonymity.
Macri also praised the security of the summit. Even before the meeting started, the authorities feared violent clashes with the demonstrators, but the protest ended peacefully. “The security is perfect,” Macri added. 25,000 police and soldiers maintain security on the streets, parts of the center of Buenos Aires are closed.
Even though the summit has officially ended, statesmen are still scheduling bilateral meetings. A meeting between US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping is expected at 21:30 CET.
G20 members are the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, Russia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey. The European Union ranks separately among them as a member of the twenty groups.
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