PM Lee attending G-20 summit

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong will be in Brisbane, Australia, tomorrow and on Sunday for the Group of 20 (G-20) summit with some of the world's most powerful leaders.

Leaders will discuss current challenges facing the world economy, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement yesterday. They will also talk about ways to promote strong, sustainable and balanced growth as well as economic resilience.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who hosts the Brisbane Summit, has promised that the meetings will not be just a "talkfest" but will focus on creating jobs, identifying tax cheats and boosting global economic growth by a further 2 per cent over the next five years.

He has singled out three themes for the agenda: strengthening the private sector to promote growth and employment, making the world economy more resilient to future shocks, and shoring up global institutions.

Singapore is not a member of the G-20, which comprises the world's 20 largest developed and developing economies that make up about two-thirds of the world's population, 85 per cent of the global economy and more than 75 per cent of world trade.

But it is one of six guest countries invited to participate in this year's G-20 summit - the ninth since 2008. It is the fourth time Singapore has a seat at the event.

With PM Lee will be Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and senior officials from the Finance and Foreign Affairs ministries and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the PMO said.

During his absence, Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean will be the Acting Prime Minister.

The G-20 summit comes on the heels of a series of international meetings.

On Monday and Tuesday, PM Lee attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Beijing, China. He then flew to Naypyitaw, Myanmar's capital, for the ASEAN summit and related meetings, including the East Asia Summit, and summits with leaders from China, India, Japan, the United States, and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon.

fiochan@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on November 14, 2014.
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