PRESS STATEMENT BY THE GLOBAL GOVERNANCE GROUP (3G) ON THE OUTCOMES OF THE G20 SUMMIT IN HAMBURG, GERMANY, 7 TO 8 JULY 2017

1        The Global Governance Group (3G) ^[1] takes note of the outcomes of the Group of Twenty (G20) Summit held in Hamburg, Germany from 7 to 8 July 2017.  The 3G welcomes the G20’s reiteration of its commitment to pursuing strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.  We also applaud the G20’s resolve to build on the rules-based international order and tackle common challenges to the global community including terrorism, displacement, poverty, hunger and health threats, job creation, climate change, energy security, and gender inequality.  

2        The 3G appreciates the outreach efforts undertaken by Germany during its 2017 G20 Presidency, including the briefings to the 3G on its G20 priorities on the sidelines of UN meetings in New York in September 2016 and February 2017.  The 3G looks forward to the continued commitment of the G20 under Argentina’s Presidency in 2018 to engage non-members and regional organisations, and incorporating their input into G20 outcomes.  The 3G reiterates its position on the role of international organisations with universal membership, especially the United Nations and its associated bodies, in global standard setting.  This would contribute to reinforcing the complementarity between the G20, multilateral organisations and other key stakeholders. 

3        The 3G welcomes the G20’s affirmation of the crucial role of the rules-based international trading system, as well as the importance of WTO-consistent bilateral, regional and plurilateral agreements to complement the multilateral trade agreements.  This is essential in continuing the development of an open and inclusive global economy that benefits our people.  The 3G appreciates the G20’s commitment in making the eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a success.  The 3G further welcomes the G20’s commitment to strengthening international trade and investment cooperation and resisting protectionism. 

4        The 3G notes the G20’s continued efforts to advance work on development and complement the UN’s development agenda.  In this regard, the 3G welcomes the Hamburg Update, which builds on the G20 Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the Hangzhou Summit last year to emphasise the G20’s collective and concrete commitments in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.  In addition, the 3G commends the G20’s leadership in supporting the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development by committing G20 members to presenting their first Voluntary National Reviews by 2019.

5        The 3G notes that while current growth prospects are generally encouraging, the pace of growth is still weaker than desirable, and downside risks remain.  The 3G thus welcomes the G20’s commitment to use all policy tools – monetary, fiscal and structural – individually and collectively to achieve strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth, while enhancing economic and financial resilience.  The 3G further supports the endorsement of the Hamburg Action Plan setting out the G20’s strategy for achieving strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.  An open and resilient international financial system is crucial to supporting sustainable growth and development.  To this end, the 3G welcomes the G20’s pledge to implement and finalise agreed financial sector reforms in a timely, full and consistent manner, and strengthen the international financial architecture.

6        The 3G notes the differing approaches among G20 members in addressing climate change.  The 3G reaffirms our commitment to the Paris Agreement, our Paris pledges and the need to advance their implementation, and stands ready to work with the G20 to address this urgent challenge together. 

7        The 3G appreciates Germany’s Presidency of the G20 in 2017 and looks forward to continuing our constructive engagement with the Argentine G20 Presidency in 2018.  The 3G reiterates its position that the United Nations is the only global body with universal participation and unquestioned legitimacy, and emphasises that actions by the G20 should complement and strengthen the United Nations system.  We support efforts to ensure that non-G20 representatives are included in the G20 process in application of the principle of “variable geometry”, and look forward to Germany updating the United Nations membership on the outcomes of the Hamburg Summit. 

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_{¹ The 3G comprises the following Member States of the United Nations: Bahamas, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Barbados, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Costa Rica, the Republic of Finland, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kuwait, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Malaysia, the Principality of Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, the Republic of the Philippines, the State of Qatar, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of San Marino, the Republic of Senegal, the Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.}