Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma and the Finance minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Jon Patrice Kitebi, met Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot on 29 August 2014 to discuss development priorities ahead of the G20 summit which takes place in Brisbane in November.
Mr Abbot received the two at his office in Canberra in his capacity as Chair of the Australian G20 Presidency. Mr Kitebi was representing the Secretary-General of La Francophonie Abdou Diouf.
The Secretary-General and the minister highlighted the importance of G20 economic policies generating economic growth which is inclusive and sustainable and takes into account the fragility and challenges of the non-G20 world. They also raised the pressing concern of identifying innovative alternative sources of finance for development given that official aid sources from governments are insufficient to meet global needs.
Mr Sharma and Mr Kitebi informed Prime Minister Abbot of the need to increase G20 focus on youth unemployment globally including by building youth indicators into the post-2015 framework. They in particular noted support for data collection on youth development to inform sound policy making as well as support to young entrepreneurs.
The two organisations undertook to explore options for addressing the funding shortfall in investment required to meet global infrastructure needs and to contribute their thinking to the G20.
They also encouraged the Finance Ministers of the G20 in the Commonwealth and La Francophonie to meet regularly in existing fora to strengthen understanding and support for G20 policies to boost the Group’s global legitimacy. Mr Sharma and Mr Kitebi stressed the need to take into account the views and priorities of the non-G20 economies and states, particularly, the poorest, smallest and most vulnerable developing countries in achieving growth with resilience.
The meeting in Australia represents a growing and deepening relationship between the two organisations and the G20. The inaugural meeting took place in Canada with Prime Minister Harper as G20 Chair in 2010, and have subsequently taken place annually with successive G20 Presidencies including France, Russia and Mexico.
Earlier this year, the annual Commonwealth and La Francophonie dialogue with the G20 was held in Washington DC in April at the International Monetary Fund.
The dialogue was convened by the Secretariats of the Commonwealth and La Francophonie, together with Australia as G20 President and Chair of the G20 Development Working Group for 2014.
