Vietnam attends G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting

On the evening of February 16 (Vietnam time), the Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the Group of 20 leading developed and emerging economies (G20) opened at the World Conference Center in the city of Bonn, Germany.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh had a bilateral meeting with German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel. (Photo: Pham Van Thang/VNA)

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh and the Vietnamese delegation attended the conference in their capacity as Foreign Minister of the host country of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2017.

The theme of this year's G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting is "Shaping the global order - foreign policy beyond crisis management." The meeting will focus on discussing three issues: Promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda; Maintaining peace in the new context; Cooperation and support for Africa. These are all issues of concern to the international community, affecting stability and sustainable development in many countries and regions.

This year’s G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting is the first major event that Sigmar Gabriel has hosted in his new role, since replacing Frank-Walter Steinmeier as German Foreign Minister in late January. It is also the first diplomatic event for new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

This year, Germany holds the role of Chair of the G20. In addition to official members, the G20 also invited many partners, international organizations and institutions, to participate in the agenda, including Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Pham Binh Minh and the Vietnamese delegation attending as Foreign Minister of the host country of APEC 2017. This is also the first time that the host country of the "APEC Year" is not a member of the G20 and has been invited to the G20 conference. This once again affirms the increasingly high role, position and prestige of Vietnam, and at the same time demonstrates Vietnam's proactive and responsible contributions to regional and world affairs.

Lasting for two days, the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting is seen as an important preparation step for the Summit next July in Hamburg.

The G20 is a forum of 20 major economies, including 19 countries with the largest economies (in terms of gross domestic product - GDP) and the European Union (EU). Established in 1999 and currently accounting for 85% of the world economy, the G20 includes the Group of Seven (G7) developed industrial countries: the US, Germany, Japan, France, the UK, Italy and Canada, along with a number of other members of the EU and the countries of Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.

In the very complex and difficult conditions of the world economy in recent years, together with other international institutions, the G20 has actively contributed to re-establishing and maintaining global macroeconomic stability and promoting the world economy to overcome the crisis through policy coordination in many areas, especially fiscal, monetary, reforming the global financial system, promoting international investment and trade.

In addition, the G20 also implemented many initiatives and cooperation programs in economic, social and environmental fields towards the stability and sustainability of the global economy such as infrastructure development, climate change response, support for underdeveloped countries, disease prevention, gender equality, anti-corruption, etc.

According to Vietnamplus