Abbott outlines G20 economic pledges

G20 SUMMIT

Australia, as the G20 host, sought to keep the focus on the economy, but other issues loomed large

The Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, has brought the G20 summit to a close by detailing economic pledges agreed by the world leaders.

He said the package, if implemented, would boost global economic growth over five years by 2.1% more than expected.

Russian President Vladimir Putin left before the meeting officially ended.

He faced fierce criticism from Western leaders over the Ukraine conflict but described the summit as “constructive and useful”.

Mr Putin said he was leaving before the release of the official communique because of the long flight to Russia and he wanted to get some sleep.

President Putin faced a frosty reception from Western leaders at the G20 meetin

President Putin faced a frosty reception from Western leaders at the G20 meetin

‘Violating international law’

Australia, as host of the meeting, had sought to keep the focus on economic issues.

However, the issues of climate change and the conflict in Ukraine also attracted significant attention.

US President Barack Obama met European leaders on Sunday to discuss a co-ordinated response to what they see as Russia’s destabilisation of Ukraine.

Mr Obama told reporters Mr Putin was “violating international law, providing heavy arms to the separatists in Ukraine” and violating the Minsk agreement.

He said the “economic isolation” of Russia would continue unless Mr Putin changed course.

In a television interview on Saturday, Mr Putin called for an end to sanctions, saying they harmed the world economy as well as Russia.

The Kremlin denies sending military forces or heavy weapons to pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine.

During the summit, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and British Prime Minister David Cameron also sharply criticised Mr Putin.

Millions of jobs

20 G

The G20 groups leaders from rich and emerging economies

World leaders agreed to plans drawn up by finance ministers from G20 countries in February to boost global growth by 2%.

This is a pretty ambitious target for many G20 economies that are struggling with recession or very little growth, the BBC’s James Landale reports from Brisbane.

In his speech, Mr Abbott said those reforms would create millions of jobs.

He also outlined plans to increase the participation of women in the global workforce, and to crack down on tax avoidance by multi-national companies.

 

BBC

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