G20 Summit, Business Leaders will meet ahead

G20 Summit: Business Leaders will meet ahead

June 25-26, 2010
At the request of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the Honourable John Manley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, will convene the G-20 Business Summit (B20) in Toronto on June 25 and 26. The B20 is one of a number of outreach initiatives planned with key stakeholders in advance of the Toronto summit.
The goal of the B20 is to enable leaders and finance ministers to receive candid and useful advice from the front lines of global commerce on the important economic issues at the centre of the G-20 agenda. It will also provide an opportunity to build support amongst the business community for G-20 policy objectives and enable business to play an active role in finding practical solutions to the global challenges we all face.
B20 participants will include two senior business leaders from each G-20 country. These business leaders will have the opportunity to exchange views amongst themselves, engage in an informal dialogue with finance ministers and offer recommendations to leaders.
G-20 leaders agreed in Pittsburgh to make the G-20 the primary global economic forum for working together to build a durable recovery and avoid a future crisis, and both governments and central banks have collaborated effectively in ensuring appropriate fiscal and monetary stimulus. As the global economy recovers, business leaders recognize that governments must increasingly turn their attention to restoring fiscal discipline and that the private sector therefore must once again take the lead in driving investment and job creation.
B20 agenda
The B20 agenda will address both current business conditions and short-term issues, such as fiscal exit strategies and financial sector regulatory reform, as well as key drivers of strong and sustainable economic growth including innovation, trade and investment liberalization, and international development. B20 discussion of entrepreneurship and small-business growth will be supported by recommendations flowing from the G20 Young Entrepreneur Summit taking place in Toronto on June 20-22.

For more info on the G20 Summit, http://g20.gc.ca/toronto-summit/

Canada Builds Closer Trade and Investment Ties with Asia-Pacific Partners

Canada Builds Closer Trade and Investment Ties with Asia-Pacific Partners

The Honourable Peter Van Loan, Minister of International Trade, today reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to strengthen trade and economic cooperation with the Asia-Pacific region before wrapping up his trade visit to Japan.
While in Japan, Minister Van Loan attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade in Sapporo, where he held a number of bilateral meetings with counterparts from APEC member economies.
“The Asia-Pacific region is a priority for Canada,” said Minister Van Loan. “We are committed to APEC and will continue to work with our partners to promote economic growth, cooperation, trade and investment across the region.”
Minister Van Loan stressed Canada’s support for economic integration in the Asia-Pacific region, including working toward a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific as a long-term objective. Minister Van Loan told his APEC counterparts that Canada, as host of the upcoming G-20 summit, will focus on restoring the health of the global economy and laying the foundation for future sustainable and balanced growth.
“Free trade and investment are vital to recovery from the global economic downturn,” said the Minister. “When Canada hosts the G-8 and G-20 summits later this month, we will be telling the world that partnerships, not protectionism, hold the key to global economic recovery.”
On the margins of the APEC meeting, Minister Van Loan continued to engage with Trans-Pacific Partnership members to assess how Canada might add value to the negotiations.
Minister Van Loan also met with Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs; Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry; and Vice-Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; as well as a number of business leaders. He noted Canada’s commitment to strengthening its science and technology relationship with one of the world’s most innovative and science-rich economies, and conveyed Canada’s commitment to progress on a range of Canada-Japan commercial issues, including the possibility of negotiating an economic partnership agreement with Japan.
“A Canada-Japan economic partnership agreement would help address today’s economic challenges by creating jobs and opening more doors for business on both sides of the Pacific,” said the Minister. “Our government is committed to promoting free trade, fighting protectionism and creating opportunities for Canadian businesses and Canadian workers in global markets.”
Minister Van Loan also visited one of the first of a series of 7-Eleven stores being built in Japan using Canadian wood-frame methods and wood products. He also delivered an address at the Friends of Canada Symposium, which brought together economic and social organizations with links to Canada.
Japan is Canada’s second-largest trading partner in Asia and its largest source of foreign direct investment from Asia; it is thus a very important market for Canadian businesses. Together, APEC members account for 55 percent of world GDP, 40 percent of the world population and 45 percent of global merchandise trade.
To learn more about the outcomes of the APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Trade, consult the Statement of the Chair and the Statement on Supporting the Multilateral Trading System and Resisting Protectionism.

Eurogrupo está completamente satisfecho con el ajuste español

"Las decisiones que ha tomado España son decisiones fuertes y valientes,l y ya veremos si hay que tomar nuevas medidas. Pero no ahora", aseguró el titular del bloque.
El presidente del Eurogrupo y primer ministro luxemburgués, Jean Claude Juncker, dijo hoy estar "completamente satisfecho" con las medidas de ajuste tomadas hasta ahora por el Gobierno español y consideró que deberá adoptar medidas más allá de 2011, "pero no ahora".

"Creo que las decisiones que ha tomado (España) son decisiones fuertes y valientes que demuestran la valentía del Gobierno español y ya veremos si hay que tomar nuevas medidas. Pero no ahora", aseguró Juncker en Bruselas, adonde viajó para participar en un acto del Parlamento Europeo.

El pasado lunes, Juncker abrió la puerta a que el Eurogrupo solicite más esfuerzos de consolidación fiscal al Gobierno de España a partir de 2011, en la rueda de prensa que ofreció tras la reunión de ministros de la zona euro en la que se examinaron las medidas adicionales de ajuste adoptadas recientemente por Madrid.

Hoy matizó el mensaje al decir que "hay que tomar medidas estructurales más allá del año 2011 y el Gobierno español verá. Pero, por el momento, estamos completamente satisfechos con lo que ha hecho el Gobierno español". Preguntado por las medidas que España deberá impulsar dentro de dos años, Juncker dijo que "es una decisión que debe tomar el Gobierno español".

Ante una pregunta de los periodistas sobre el endurecimiento de las condiciones para acceder al crédito, Juncker asevero que "los mercados deberían tomar conciencia de que hemos puesto en marcha el instrumento de estabilización y que la eurozona es muy valiente".

Juncker se refería al mecanismo financiero aprobado el pasado 9 de mayo para evitar el contagio de la crisis de la deuda griega a otros países de la zona como España o Portugal.

La reunión de ministros del Eurogrupo, celebrada en Luxemburgo el pasado lunes, también terminó de cerrar los últimos detalles de ese instrumento, capaz de movilizar hasta 750.000 millones de euros para acudir en auxilio de socios que tuvieran problemas para acceder a la financiación de los mercados.