Taking the baton from Germany on Friday 1 December, Argentina became the first Latin American country to take the reins of the rotating presidency of the G20 – the group of the world's 20 leading economies. Within the world’s major forum for global economic, political, and financial cooperation, Buenos Aires promises to mobilise against protectionism.
"We are going to put at the centre of the G20 the aspirations and concerns of the developing region, which is keen for new opportunities,” Argentina's President Mauricio Macri said at the opening ceremony in Buenos Aires on Thursday 30 November.
"We are going to show that we can join a global discussion without raising our voice in anger, but without following the interests of others passively either", he added.
Macri stated that Argentina is committed "to building consensus for fair and sustainable development". "An important part of what we’re doing at the G20 has to do with the major goal we have in Argentina: to reduce poverty”, he said, underlining the three priorities of the Argentine chair – the future of work and jobs, infrastructure for development, and food security.
"The G20 is an ideal place to continue reaffirming the benefits of greater trade ties, especially for countries like Argentina that want to export their agricultural products”, Argentina's Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne said in a press conference.
Argentina will host the G20 summit in Buenos Aires at the end of November 2018, as well as over 50 meetings in 10 different cities – starting with a meeting of the G20 finance ministers at San Carlos de Bariloche on Friday 1 and Saturday 2 December. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)