Press Statement by the Global Governance Group (3G) on the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, 4-5 September 2016

1                 The Global Governance Group (3G) ^[1] looks forward to a constructive and ambitious outcome from the upcoming Group of Twenty (G20) Summit, which will be held in Hangzhou, China, from 4 to 5 September 2016.  The 3G commends the efforts of the G20 under China’s Presidency to foster an innovative, invigorated, interconnected and inclusive world economy to usher in a new era of global growth and sustainable development.  To boost the momentum of the global economic recovery, we call on the G20 to continue to implement structural reforms and create quality jobs to support mid-to-long term global economic growth. 

2                 The 3G commends the G20’s efforts to complement the collective growth ambition set by the Brisbane Summit by finding new sources of growth and exploring ways to enhance medium-to-long-term growth potential.  In this regard, the 3G welcomes the G20’s focus on innovation, the new industrial revolution and the digital economy as new drivers to boost long-term economic growth.  The 3G notes that international financial market volatility remains a potential risk to global economic recovery.  To safeguard international finance stability and strengthen global economic resilience, the 3G calls on the G20 to continue its efforts towards fostering a more stable and resilient international financial architecture.

3                 To usher in a new era of global growth, the 3G believes that an open, rules-based multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is essential.  The 3G encourages the G20 to reaffirm its commitment to strengthening international trade and investment cooperation, reducing barriers to trade and resisting protectionism in all forms.  The 3G welcomes the commencement of the G20 Trade and Investment Working Group (TIWG) meetings in 2016, and looks forward to the continual engagement with the TIWG to further the global trade and investment liberalisation agenda.  

4                 The 3G welcomes the G20’s continued efforts to advance work on development, which is a key element in the G20’s long-term agenda.  In particular, the Hangzhou Summit takes place a year after the adoption of the landmark 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by world leaders on 25 September 2015.  The 3G is highly supportive of the G20’s efforts to implement the 2030 Agenda and complement the United Nations’ (UN) development agenda.  In this regard, the 3G welcomes efforts by the G20 in supporting the full implementation of the 2030 Agenda, including assisting other developing countries in their implementation efforts.  The 3G further urges the G20 to strengthen policy coherence on sustainable development across each of the G20 workstreams to better support alignment with the 2030 Agenda.  In addition, the 3G strongly supports endeavours aimed at injecting impetus towards Africa and Least Developed Countries’ efforts at sustainable industrialisation, one of the crucial drivers of economic development. 

5                 The Paris Agreement concluded at the 21^st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2015 was a watershed, charting our collective course towards climate safety.  The 3G applauds the commitment of the G20 to green and sustainable growth, and supports strong and effective action to address climate change.  The 3G looks forward to the leadership of the G20’s major economies in ratifying the Agreement.  This will generate the momentum for its entry into force and universal participation.

6                 The 3G appreciates China’s leadership of the G20 in 2016, in particular, China’s efforts to build on practices by previous G20 Presidencies in strengthening the G20’s engagement with the UN, relevant regional organisations and non-G20 members, including the 3G.  The 3G has contributed two papers, on (i) innovation-driven growth; and (ii) infrastructure for enhanced connectivity and growth, to the G20 this year.  The 3G welcomes the Chinese Presidency’s invitation to the UN Secretary-General to attend and participate actively in the Hangzhou Summit, and highlights the importance of maintaining this practice.  The 3G supports efforts to ensure that non-G20 representatives are included in the G20.  The 3G hopes that the next G20 President, Germany, will continue to strengthen efforts to enhance the inclusiveness and transparency of the G20, and looks forward to engaging constructively in that regard.  The 3G looks forward to China updating the UN membership on the outcomes of the Hangzhou Summit.

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2 September 2016

 1 The 3G comprises the following Member States of the United Nations: Bahamas, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Barbados, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Costa Rica, the Republic of Finland, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kuwait, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Principality of Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, the Republic of the Philippines, the State of Qatar, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of San Marino, the Republic of Senegal, the Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.