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  • AS IT HAPPENED: World leaders conclude discussions at G20 Summit


AS IT HAPPENED: World leaders conclude discussions at G20 Summit

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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the summit. (SPA)
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Having met earlier with the Argentine president Macri, the crown prince met with the Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte later on Saturday afternoon. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets Argentina’s president on the sidelines of the G20 summit. (SPA)
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 Leaders from the world’s major economies are meeting on the second day of the G20 Summit in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires. (Screenshot)
Updated 02 December 2018
Arab News
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AS IT HAPPENED: World leaders conclude discussions at G20 Summit

  • Leaders from the world’s major economies are meeting on the second day of the summit
  • Saudi Arabia’s delegation is headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
Updated 02 December 2018
Arab News

BEUNOS AIRES: Leaders from the world’s major economies met on the second day of the G20 Summit in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires on Saturday, having come together for talks on Friday to discuss development, infrastructure and investment. 

Saudi Arabia’s delegation was headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was greeted by world leaders including Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron on day one and met with other attendees on day two.

LATEST

19.15 GMT

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

19:00 GMT

Making his final statements at the G20 Summit, France's president told reporters that he had discussed the Jamal Khashoggi case with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He also spoke with Prince Mohammed about the ongoing situation in Yemen and affirmed France's commitment to supporting a political solution to the conflict. Macron also said that he and the crown prince also discussed oil prices.

18.00 GMT 

Argentina's President Mauricio Macri said that his country planned to discuss some investment ideas with Saudi Arabia.

17:50 GMT

Saudi Arabia's crown prince met the Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres on the sidelines of the summit.

17.05 GMT

The G20 communique said that the G20 nations reaffirm their commitment to further strengthening the global financial safety net with a strong, quota-based, and adequately resourced IMF at its centre.

G20 signatories to the Paris climate change deal said that they will continue to tackle climate change while promoting sustainable development and economic growth.

Meanwhile, the US reiterated its decision to withdraw from the Paris agreement and affirmed its commitment to utilising all energy sources and technologies while protecting the  environment. 

17.00 GMT

A G20 communique said “We renew our commitment to work together to improve a rules-based international order that is capable of effectively responding to a rapidly changing world.”

Read More: Why the G20 matters now for both Saudi Arabia and the international community

16:30 GMT

Having met earlier with the Argentine president Macri, the crown prince met with the Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte later on Saturday afternoon.

16:00 GMT

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed on Saturday to hold further talks about events in the Kerch Strait.

Russia is resisting international calls to release three Ukrainian naval ships that its border patrols fired on and seized in the strait near Russian-annexed Crimea last weekend. Moscow accused the 24 sailors of illegally crossing the Russian border.

Merkel voiced her concern about the situation when she met Putin on the sidelines of the summit.

Read More: G20 coverage in Arab News' Spotlight

15:40 GMT

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Argentina’s president Mauricio Macri.

 

15:35 GMT

President Donald Trump canceled a planned news conference at the Group of 20 summit in Argentina Saturday, "out of respect for the Bush Family" after death of former President George H.W. Bush.
In a tweet, Trump said he was "very much looking forward" to speaking with the news media before leaving the summit in Buenos Aires "because we have had such great success in our dealing with various countries and their leaders at the G20."
He added: "However, out of respect for the Bush Family and former President George H.W. Bush we will wait until after the funeral to have a press conference."

15:00 GMT

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged British Prime Minster Theresa May to ensure stability as Britain leaves the European Union and asked her to do what she could to avoid a 'no deal' Brexit.

May secured an agreement with European Union leaders on Nov 25 that would see Britain leave the bloc on March 29 with continued close trade ties, but the odds look stacked against her getting it through a deeply divided British parliament.

Read More: G20 enters final day with work to do on bridging divisions

14:20 GMT

G20 leaders were due to discuss climate change at the morning session of their summit on Saturday and negotiations on a draft communique were expected to last until the final minute, a spokesperson for the Argentine G20 sherpa said.

Leaders were close to agreement on wording over reform of the World Trade Organization and had "advanced a lot" on trade, the spokesperson said: "We are going to negotiate till the last minute"

Read More: AS IT HAPPENED: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets world leaders at G20

13:45 GMT

Day two of the summit began with G20 leaders paying tribute to the former US president George HW Bush, who died on Saturday aged 94. French president Emmanuel Macron said: "He was a world leader, who strongly supported the alliance with Europe.”

While UK prime minister Theresa May lauded Bush as “a great statesman and a true friend of our country.” Current US president Donald Trump said Bush had “inspired generations of his fellow Americans to public service.”

But there was no immediate comment from Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, who in the past has called the breakup of the Soviet Union under Bush’s president a “historical tragedy.”

Read More: What G20 summits have solved

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Among the world leaders the crown prince also met with on day one included Indonesia's vice president and South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa, where he discussed cooperation in the fields of energy and investment. 

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan participated in a G20 working dinner for world finance ministers on the sidelines of the summit on Thursday.

The meeting consisted of two sessions. The first session focused on developments in the global economy, risk management in volatile financial markets, growing trade differences, lessons learned over the last ten years since the group's first summit in November 2008, and ways of cooperation in order to face future challenges of achieving sustainable and comprehensive growth. The second session, which was opened by Al-Jadaan who was the keynote speaker at the session, focussed on financial progress in the group’s works, ways to make its role effective by building on what is has achieved, mechanisms to reach consensus on controversial financial and economic issues, and streamlining the G20 agenda.

Topics: G20 Summit 2018 G20 Saudi Arabia at the G20

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Starmer and Xi call for deeper UK-China ties as Trump shakes up global relations

Updated 3 sec ago
AP
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Starmer and Xi call for deeper UK-China ties as Trump shakes up global relations

  • Neither Prime Minister Keir Starmer nor President Xi Jinping publicly mentioned Donald Trump
  • But the US president’s challenge to the post-Cold War order was clearly on their minds
Updated 3 sec ago
AP

BEIJING: The leaders of Britain and China called Thursday for a “strategic partnership” to deepen ties between their nations at a time of growing global turbulence as they sought to thaw relations after years of chill.

Neither Prime Minister Keir Starmer nor President Xi Jinping publicly mentioned Donald Trump, but the US president’s challenge to the post-Cold War order was clearly on their minds.

“I think that working together on issues like climate change, global stability during challenging times for the world is precisely what we should be doing as we build this relationship in the way that I’ve described,” Starmer told Xi at the start of their meeting in Beijing.

The two met for 80 minutes — double the scheduled time — in the Great Hall of the People as their nations try to improve relations after several years of acrimony. Relations have deteriorated over allegations of Chinese spying in Britain, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and the crackdown on freedoms in Hong Kong, the former British colony that was returned to China in 1997. Starmer is the first British prime minister to visit in eight years.

Xi said that “China-UK relations experienced twists and turns in previous years, which was not in the interests of either country.”

“In the current turbulent and ever-changing international situation ... China and the UK need to strengthen dialogue and cooperation to maintain world peace and stability,” he said.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said Xi had stressed, without mentioning the US directly, that “major powers” must adhere to international law or the world would regress into a “jungle.”

Relationship is in ‘a good place’

Starmer’s Downing Street office said Britain wanted “a consistent, long-term, and strategic partnership that will benefit both countries.”

After the meeting, Starmer said the leaders had made “really good progress” on issues including slashing Chinese tariffs on Scotch whisky and introducing visa-free travel for British visitors.

“The relationship is in a good place, a strong place,” the British leader said.

Xi appeared to acknowledge the criticism that Starmer has faced for reaching out to China despite national security and human rights concerns. The UK recently approved controversial plans for a huge Chinese Embassy in London, removing a sticking point in relations but also overriding fears that the “mega-embassy” would make it easier for China to conduct espionage and intimidate dissidents.

“Good things often come with difficulties,” Xi said. “As long as it is the right thing to do in accordance with the fundamental interests of the country and its people, leaders will not shy away from difficulties and will forge ahead bravely.”

Starmer’s visit comes less than two months after a Hong Kong court convicted Jimmy Lai, a former newspaper publisher and British citizen, under a national security law that Beijing imposed on the territory after massive pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Starmer said he raised human rights issues with Xi and the two men had a “respectful discussion.”

Starmer, who was elected in July 2024, has said he will protect national security while keeping up diplomatic dialogue and economic cooperation with China. He told Xi that it has “been far too long” since a UK prime minister visited.

“I made a promise 18 months ago when we were elected into government, that I would make Britain face outward again,” the leader of the center-left Labour Party said. “Because as we all know, events abroad affect everything that happens back in our home countries, from prices on the supermarket shelves to how secure we feel.”

Starmer’s government has struggled to deliver the economic growth it promised and ease a cost-of-living crisis for millions of households and he sees China as a potential source of growth.

More than 50 UK business executives have joined him on the trip, along with the leaders of major cultural organizations, as he seeks to expand opportunities for British companies in China and secure Chinese investment in the UK

Trump tariffs spur new trade talks

The disruption to global trade under Trump has made expanding trade and investment more imperative for many governments. Vietnam and the European Union upgraded ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership Thursday, two days after the EU and India announced a free trade accord.

“At a moment when the international rules-based order is under threat from multiple sides, we need to stand side by side as reliable and predictable partners,” European Council President Antonio Costa said in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Starmer is the fourth leader of a US ally to visit Beijing this month, following those of South Korea, Canada and Finland. The German chancellor is expected to visit next month.

The UK leader also met Thursday with Zhao Leji, the chairman of China’s legislature, the National People’s Congress, and Premier Li Qiang, who told Starmer his efforts to improve relations had been “widely welcomed” in both countries.

The two countries were expected to sign a number of agreements. One will try to disrupt the trade in Chinese boat engines used by smugglers to bring people across the English Channel to Britain. More than half the engines come from China, the British government said. Under the agreement, U.K law enforcement agencies will work with Chinese authorities and manufacturers to prevent engines from ending up in the hands of criminal gangs.

Topics: keir starmer UK China Xi Jinping

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