Singapore invited to attend G-20 summit

Singapore has been invited by Argentina to attend the annual meeting of the world's top economic leaders next year.

At the Buenos Aires Summit, leaders of the Group of 20 (G-20) economies will discuss the challenges facing the global economy and the policies to promote strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth. The summit, from Nov 30 to Dec 1 next year, will be the 13th meeting of the G-20.

Singapore, a major financial centre and hub for investments into Asia, looks forward to contributing actively to the G-20 discussions, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a joint news release yesterday.

In particular, Singapore is keen to promote an open, rules-based international economic system as well as discuss infrastructure financing, international tax cooperation and the future of work.

An international panel of top economists and leaders, chaired by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, will also be submitting its final recommendations on global financial governance by October next year .

This G-20 Eminent Persons Group on Global Financial Governance was set up in April this year, and tasked to review issues related to global financial governance.

It will submit its findings to the G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors.

The statement noted that Singapore and Argentina enjoy warm relations and close cooperation in multilateral forums.

As chair of Asean next year, Singapore will work together with Argentina to strengthen cooperation between the G-20 and Asean.

As a member of the Global Governance Group, Singapore will seek to promote stronger engagement between the G-20 and the wider United Nations membership, the statement added.

The Global Governance Group, an informal coalition of about 30 small to medium-sized countries, regularly engages with the G-20.

The statement said that Singapore will work with Argentina and the other G-20 members and attendees to achieve a successful outcome at the Buenos Aires Summit. Although Singapore is not a G-20 member, it was invited to participate in the G-20 summits and its related processes in 2010 and 2011, and from 2013 to this year.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on December 08, 2017, with the headline Singapore invited to attend G-20 summit. Subscribe