With Germany’s G20 presidency coming to a close, DIE and IfW hand over T20 leadership to Argentinian partners

DIE and IfW hand over T20 leadership to Argentinian partners

Joint press release by the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)

11 October 2017

Washington D.C., On Tuesday, representatives from the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) and Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) met in Washington, D.C. with senior Argentine government and academic representatives. As the South American country is taking over the chair of the G20 in December 2017, the meeting at its embassy formally marked the transfer of the Think 20 (T20) leadership to two Argentine research institutions – Consejo Argentino para las Relaciones Internacionales (CARI) and Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC), both based in Buenos Aires.

The handover took place on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and was accompanied by a working meeting among DIE, IfW and their Argentinian counterparts from CIPPEC and CARI, as well as an intensive exchange with Ambassador Pedro Villagra Delgado, Argentine Sherpa for the G20 process. DIE and IfW supported Germany’s G20 presidency by chairing and organising the so-called T20 process. It brings together international think tanks to develop research-based policy proposals for the G20. Its policy recommendations, which were devised by an extensive network of 347 authors from G20 countries and others and published in 85 policy briefs, helped to inform and influence the negotiations leading up to and culminating in the German G20 summit in Hamburg in early July.

The T20 Network worked very hard to develop strategies and concrete solutions for G20 leaders to help implement the Paris Agreement. Time is running out to avoid dangerous climate change. It was important that President Trump was isolated during the G20 Hamburg Summit in his fight against the Paris Agreement.  The T20 network suggested to T20 leaders to become climate pioneers and major drivers of implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.”, said Dirk Messner, Co-Chair of T20 Germany and Director of the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE).

During its T20 leadership, the DIE and IfW aimed at formalizing the T20 process, by focusing the process around twelve thematic task forces and making their recommendations accessible to both decision makers and the interested public through the G20 Insights Platform (www.g20-insights.org).

“Supported by the T20 network, the G20 under Germany’s presidency made a shift in the ultimate purpose of the group towards realigning economic and social progress and shaping globalization to benefit all people. We are now happy to hand over the T20 leadership to our Argentine partners who already started to set up their own ambitious agenda for the T20 in 2017/18”, said Dennis Snower, Co-Chair of T20 Germany and President of the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Today, T20 representatives from several countries will be discussing ways to revive international cooperation at a day-long event organised by DIE, IfW, CARI and CIPPEC hosted by the Brookings Institutions based in Washington D.C.. On the agenda are the transitioning from the German to the Argentinian G20 presidency, as well as the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the G20 Compact with Africa – an initiative for sustainable economic development, spearheaded by Germany’s finance ministry.