ANKARA
The focus will be on global economic growth and jobs as the G20 Leaders' Summit will take place in Antalya, Turkey from Nov. 15-16.
The summit, to be held under the auspices of the Turkish presidency of the G20 at the Regnum Carya Hotel Convention Center, will bring together 13,000 officials and delegates from member countries, About 3,000 journalists are expected from around the world to follow the summit.
Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for the Turkish presidency, said Monday that Syria's civil war which has left more than 300,000 people dead and forced 10.6 million -- nearly half the population -- out of their homes, will be discussedat the summit.
"Nobody should expect that we will solve the Syrian issue at the G20 meeting. The G20’s main agenda is the global economy. But it is not possible to think in terms of economic development as distinct from political issues. Inevitably, there are also significant political topics to be discussed at the G20 summit," Kalin said.
According to Kalin, the focus of the summit will be on how the G20, both collectively and individually, can propose reforms to significantly raise global growth by more than 2 percent over the next five years, to about $2 trillion.
"A mechanism was established to put forward these reforms. Its details will be discussed comprehensively at the summit by world leaders," Kalin said.
Under Turkey's presidency, the G20 has been focusing its efforts on ensuring inclusive and robust growth through collective action.
Stating that the global economy is faced with many challenges, Kalin said, “One of the most critical issues here is ensuring sustainable and balanced growth. When thinking about growth, it is important to take into account its quality as well as its quantitative aspect. We want to express that improving growth involves increasing employment creation capacity as well as utilizing available resources most effectively.”
“This year, the deepening refugee crisis and the issue of global terrorism will be discussed by G20 countries' leaders at a working dinner on Nov.15.”
Kalin said there will be six working sessions during the summit, of which, a few of them are business dinners.
World leaders are expected to arrive at Antalya starting from November,14.
- G20 to restrict the use of tax havens
The final package of measures proposed by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as part of its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project will be presented to G20 leaders in Turkey this week's summit.
The rules are designed to improve transparency, close loopholes and restrict the use of tax havens. The new proposals are intended to restrict international companies from making use of low-tax countries and tax havens.
The OECD projects that these proposals could raise up to $250 billion a year in extra tax revenue, especially for developing countries, if they are implemented.
"Consisting of 15 specific actions, the BEPS Action Plan has covered a very comprehensive set of issues including, among other things, the digital economy, harmful tax practices, interest rate deductions and transfer pricing," Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Cevdet Yilmaz said in a speech on Oct. 9. "To maintain the success of these actions and ensure their applicability, a very large group of countries and jurisdictions have been involved during the studies. During the process, we have respected the sovereignty of each country, and encouraged the participation of non-G20 countries, particularly the developing ones, on an equal-footing."
-Security high
There will be more police officers than delegates and journalists in Antalya and the plans were one year in the making. Security for the G20 summit has been hailed as a success. The government announced that Belek town, where the summit will be held, will be treated as a high- security area. Bulletproof glass will cover the windows of the hotels where the world leaders are to stay.
-About G20
The G20 is the premier forum for its 19 member countries and the EU. The G20 president invites several guest countries each year to its annual meeting.
The G20 was formed in 1999 as a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis. Later on in 2008, the first G20 Leaders' Summit was held and the forum played a key role in helping member countries respond to the global financial crisis. Since then, G20 leaders have met nine times.
The G20 is supported by international organisations, including the Financial Stability Board, the International Labour Organisation, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations, the World Bank and the World Trade Organization.
Previous hosts of the G20 Leaders’ Summit were the United States (in 2008 and 2009), the United Kingdom (2009), Canada (2010), the Republic of Korea (2010), France (2011), Mexico (2012), Russia (2013) and Australia (2014).
