Argentina, host of the Group of 20 (G20) meetings this year, sees a key role for the multilateral platform in forging consensus on trade and global development issues, Argentine Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Faurie said in a recent interview.
"We want the G20 to be a mechanism for dialogue between the major international players," Faurie told Xinhua in the lead-up to the 13th G20 summit, which is scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Buenos Aires.
The summit will gather leaders of the world's major developed and emerging economies for discussions on global governance. The South American host has outlined three priority areas for its G20 agenda: "the future of work," "infrastructure for development" and "a sustainable food future."
Argentina has chosen to focus on "sustainable development that promotes inclusion," Faurie said, noting that the priorities outlined by Argentina reflected its emphasis on sustainable and inclusive development.
"We are particularly interested in working on infrastructure, not just physical infrastructure, but also the kind that has to do with growth and inclusion in the fields of new technologies and, especially digital technology, in which China has made extraordinary and significant progress," he said.
The Argentine foreign minister pointed out that global trade has changed a lot over the past decades, making it necessary to "look at all the scenarios again to have rules that are adequate to the time we are living in."
"The reality of the year 1992 is completely different from the reality of the year 2018, or say 2020," he said. "We have e-commerce, virtual platforms."
"To that end, it is necessary for us to agree on how to promote this growth in trade. This is a good stage to analyze what is the best way to boost trade with an eye to the future," he said.
"We have moderate expectations," Faurie said. "... we believe we are well prepared and with a positive attitude."
