Leading Associations of German Industry Take Over B20 Presidency
Shortly before the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, the Federation of German In-dustries (BDI), the Con-federation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Indus-try (DIHK) jointly take over the presidency of the official G20 business dia-logue: the Business 20 (B20). The federal government, which assumes the G20 presidency, man-dated the three German business associations.
B20 Chair Jürgen Heraeus emphasized the important role of business in the G20 process. “We take over the B20 Presidency in the spirit of contributing to a strong G20. Together, we have to strengthen the G20 as a strategic-ori-ented central actor for global economic governance. Foremost, we have to improve the implementation quota of G20 communiqués. The G20 can count on our input to identify and promote the right measures.”
Representing B20 Germany, BDI President Ulrich Grillo, and BDI Vice-President Gerhard Braun will be handed over the reins of the B20 by Chi-nese B20 Chair Jiang Zengwei. “The simultaneousness of crises is poison for the global economy.” Grillo said. “Uncertainty paralyzes innovation. All the more, we need global frameworks which promote growth and employ-ment.” Along with classic B20 topics such as trade, finance, and invest-ment, B20 Germany will introduce new topics. “In taskforces on digitaliza-tion as well as on energy, climate, and resource efficiency, we want to agree on a road map for a future-oriented and sustainable global economy.”
Braun also stressed the necessity for global cooperation: “The current major challenges for the economy as well as society have to be addressed in global fora. High youth unemployment rates around the world and unequal educa-tion opportunities impede innovation and growth and dampen future poten-tial. We will address this as well as the challenges of the working environ-ment’s digitalization within the frame of B20 Germany.”
About the G20
The G20 members comprise about 85 percent of global GDP, more than 75 percent of global goods and services exports, as well as two-thirds of the global population.
About the B20
The B20 is an integral part of the G20 processes and represents the G20 business community. Its task is to support the G20 with concrete policy pro-posals, consolidated interest representation, and expertise. Moreover, the B20 promotes the international dialogue between governments, civil soci-ety, and business. In the B20, G20 business representatives work on joint proposals and specific action recommendations, which cover the entire width of G20 topics.
