Finance Deputies and Sherpas of G20 members met at a joint session in Bodrum on June 16, 2015 to review the progress achieved in the 2015 G20 agenda and discuss the next steps for the remainder of the year.
As the first half of Turkey’s G20 Presidency term was completed, the joint meeting, along with the G20 Finance Deputies and G20 Sherpas Meetings, provided members a timely opportunity to assess the progress and set out the work program for the second half of the year with a view to ensuring a coherent effort from Finance and Sherpa tracks.
The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Mr. Ali Babacan. Following Deputy Prime Minister’s opening remarks, G20 Finance Deputy of Turkey Mr. Cavit Dağdaş shared his assessments on the Finance Track issues and G20 Sherpa Ambassador Ayşe Sinirlioğlu touched upon the Sherpa Track issues. The joint meeting was concluded with discussion among participants.
During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Babacan indicated that G20 plays a crucial role in achieving a strong and healthy global economic structure. He stressed that implementing the previous G20 commitments is crucial for maintaining the credibility of the G20. He also drew attention to the importance of following policies which focus on promoting the active involvement of women in economy and addressing inequalities to ensure a high quality economic growth.
Different aspects of inclusiveness, which is one of the priorities of the Turkish Presidency, were discussed during the meeting. The importance of inclusive growth on eliminating inequalities pertaining to the internal structures of the countries, improving cooperation between LIDCs (Low Income Developing Countries) and G20 members as well as supporting the integration of SMEs (Small and Medium Size Enterprises) in the global economy were also taken up.
Deputy Prime Minister Babacan thanked the G20 members for their support for Turkey in establishing the W20 (Women-20) which aims to assist women entrepreneurs and increase women participation in economy. He also drew attention to the importance of the World SME Forum which was launched recently as the international voice of SMEs.
Mr. Babacan said that “significant progress was made during the first 6 months of the Turkish Presidency in the lead up to the Leaders’ Summit to be held in Antalya”.
Turkey assumed the G20 Presidency on 1 December 2014. The preparations for the G20 Leaders Summit on 15-16 November 2015 in Antalya are being made through various meetings held in different cities in Turkey. Ensuring inclusive economic growth, in this context overcoming inequalities which prevent disadvantaged groups such as women and youth from obtaining a higher share from economic growth, implementation of G20 commitments and unlocking global infrastructure investment are amongst the Turkish Presidency priorities.
