G20 to push for growth in fight against inequality

Turkey, June-17 Turkey, which assumed the presidency of the G20, will push for inclusive growth and investment to boost economic expansion and stem the tide of rising inequality, its sherpa has said.

"We defined our priorities as the three Is — namely implementation, investment and also inclusive growth. One of the overarching aims of the G20 is to have balanced sustainable growth. All over the world, we are seeing rising inequality. There are several studies which show that rising inequality has implications on long-term growth rates. G20 is a macroeconomic coordination platform and that's why we thought that as the G20, we should address this issue," Turkey's G20 sherpa Ayse Sinirlioglu told reporters. Railway minister Suresh Prabhu, who is the Indian sherpa for the G20, is attending the meeting.

Global growth has been sluggish and several multilateral agencies have forecast tepid growth for the world economy which highlights the need for coordinated action to boost expansion and narrow the rising tide of inequality.

G20 sherpas, central bank deputy governors and deputy finance ministers are meeting to thrash out the agenda for the leaders summit in November.

The G20 comprises the largest and emerging economies, which account for 85% of global gross domestic product and 75% of world trade. It comprises the US, the UK, the European Union, India, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

"Our aim will be to bring non-G20 countries closer and closer to the G20 countries," Sinirlioglu said. The G20 under Turkey's presidency has set up a special sub-group on the issue of inequality to examine the issue in depth and suggest policy recommendations for the leaders.

Another key focus of the G20 would be reviving jobs across countries and devise policies which promote employment. "We are saying that we are losing our future if we do not make some specific commitments this year to address this issue. We are developing a skills strategy for countries to adapt," she said.

The G20 will also work for narrowing the gender gap. "Last year, we committed ourselves to decrease the gender gap by 25% by 2025. If we are able to deliver on our commitments, we will bring an additional 100 million women power to the workforce. This should be a significant effort on the part of the G20," she said, adding that bringing more women into the workforce will have an immediate effect on combating inequality.

She cited studies to show that if women's participation in the workforce increases, it will add $80 billion to the global GDP. "That's why we have put a high emphasis on implementation," Sinirlioglu said.

Turkey will also push for implementation of the pledges of the Brisbane summit where the G20 vowed to add 2.1% to growth in the group collectively. "Within the G20, we will have strong accountability and robust monitoring system. We will have the accountability report," she said, adding that the report will help monitor how countries are delivering on growth boosting measures.

Source: TOI