Antalya gears up for G20 summit

As Antalya City begins its preparations to host 13,000 people at November’s G-20 Leaders’ Summit, we take look at Turkey’s G20 aims.

Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has stated that the G20 responds to global challenges and turmoil.

“The recession taught us that the solution to global challenges rests in global actions. The rise of the G20 is a manifestation of this spirit. As the major economies of the world, we adopted a more integrated, coordinated and effective approach to the challenges we have been facing.”

He added that while the immediate effects of the recession were “contained”, the fallout has still been noted in slow economic growth, rising inequality and unemployment. These issues mean the G20 is still “highly important and relevant in a post-crisis world.”

Davutoglu said Turkey’s role will be to make the G20 more relevant to the rest of the world, including developing countries.

Turkey has three aims for its G20 presidency.

Strengthening the Global Recovery and Lifting the Potential

The sluggish growth that is an undeniable hangover from the global recession means unemployment remains high and the equality gap is widening. Under Turkish presidency, the G20 will attempt to improve the pace of global growth, focusing on boosting investments, increasing employment and promoting trade.

Private sector investments to help infrastructure will be a particular focus, and also analysing the “investment gaps” of each country, especially in infrastructure.

Global trade is currently lower than pre-crisis levels, and analysis will hopefully uncover the reasons behind the slump.

Employment is a big focus. Job creation helps bolster growth, and the G20 will aim to understand the factors behind unemployment in world economies, and implement employment plans, focusing in particular on youth and women.

Enhancing resilience

The G20 talks will aim to thresh out the world’s financial systems, creating stable economies, functioning tax systems and a level playing field for businesses.

These are the essential elements of a resilient global economy. 

Work is required to end corruption, make international taxation more transparent, and improve communication between government and businesses, measures that will shore up the economy against further shocks to the economy down the line.

Buttressing sustainability 

The G20 will be focussing on development, energy and climate change finance, aiming to increase global prosperity and eradicate poverty. 

Development in particular will be in focus this year, and the Turkish presidency will aim to further integrate developing countries into the global economy by improving investment environments and financial infrastructure.

Food security is another focus. Turkey’s presidency will be the first to introduce a food security and nutrition framework. Improving smallholder productivity and improving sustainable food systems are key to helping developing countries feed their citizens.

Energy sustainability is also key. Globally, 1.3 billion people lack access to reliable energy. Turkey’s presidency will highlight the need for energy investments and move away from the reliance of fossil fuels. Climate change will also be on the agenda.

The summit

Around 13,000 people will attend the summit. This number includes a number of world leaders, 1500 press members, and the 1000-strong US delegation. World leaders will include the US President Barack Obama, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Antalya on the map

As well as putting Antalya well and truly on the map as a tourist destination, the summit will also cement the city’s reputation as a centre for conferences and business.