04.06.2015 Paris
The second B20 Taskforces Joint Meeting was held in Paris. Attended by approximately 300 members and non-members of G20, the meeting focused on youth unemployment and improving the participation of women in the workforce; pointing to the significance and urgency of these issues.
B20 Turkey Chair and TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu said,
“Global growth rates are down and while unemployment rates are this high, B20
can’t rest for a minute.” BIAC Chair Phil O’Reily, OECD Secretary General Angel
Gurria and G20 Turkey Sherpa Ayşe Sinirlioğlu presented their assessments in
retards B20.
As a part of the B20 Turkey Term Chair activities, the B20 Turkey 2nd
Taskforces Joint Meeting was held in Paris. The meeting, held by OECD and BIAC
in cooperation with B20 Turkey, was attended by 300 global actors. The
suggestions of the various Taskforces were voted upon to determine their
priorities.
“Youth unemployment and improving the participation of women in the
workforce,” with 82 of votes, took top priority.
Speaking at the meeting, B20 Turkey Chair and TOBB President M. Rifat
Hisarcıklıoğlu provided further details on the process and the suggestions of
the Taskforces.
Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “Global growth rates are down and while
unemployment rates are this high, B20 can’t rest for a minute.”
In this regard, Hisarcıklıoğlu drew attention to the basis of its
management philosophy as term chair: Investment, inclusiveness and
implementation. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that this approach contributes greatly to
overcoming the global economic crisis, albeit slowly.
Hisarcıklıoğlu also pointed to the importance of B20 Turkey’s endeavors
to better understand and address the business communities of the world and to
include them in the process in order to generate policy.
- Hisarcıklıoğlu on the
suggestions of the Taskforces
Hisarcıklıoğlu briefly summarized the suggestions of the Taskforces. He
stated that the Trade Taskforce would be insistent in regards to further
facilitating global trade and urged that the Facilitation of Trade Agreement be
widely signed.
On SMEs and Entrepreneurship Taskforce, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “B20
considers the integration of SME into global markets as a necessity.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed to the importance of the World SME Forum to this
end.
Hisarcıklıoğlu announced that the priority of the Employment Taskforce
is youth unemployment and improving the participation of women in the
workforce, while he said, in regards to Financing Growth Taskforce, “This
Taskforce’s primary goal is to strengthen the financing of SMEs.”
Listing the suggestions of the Infrastructure and Investments Taskforce,
Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized the importance of ameliorating the state of the
investment environment.
Lastly, Hisarcıklıoğlu talked about the views of the Anti-Corruption
Taskforce in regards to the transparent
customs procedures between G20 countries
and developing intra-border systems.
- Other speakers
In his speech, BIAC Chair Phil O’Reily spoke about the importance of the
B20 and developments during Turkey’s Term as Chair while OECD Secretary General
Angel Gurria talked about the policy needs which would shape the mega-trends in
a changing world and the future.
G20 Turkey Sherpa Ayşe Sinirlioğlu touched on the matters of investment,
inclusivity and implementation.
Following Sinirlioğlu’s speech, Taskforce Leads and relevant OECD
representatives held a short interactive Q&A session.
- Ministers of Treasury will
convene in Ankara in September
The first of these meetings held by OECD and BIAC in cooperation with
B20 Turkey was held in Washington D.C. in April.
The Paris meeting was the last meeting held before the meeting of the
Ministers of the Treasuries of G20 countries which will be held between
September 3rd and 5th in Ankara.