The VII G20 Leaders’ Summit 2012 in Los Cabos, Mexico, Concludes

Los Cabos, Baja California Sur, June 20, 2012 – The G20 Leaders’ Summit, the most important multilateral event ever hosted by Mexico, has concluded, as a result of which President Felipe Calderón issued a press statement.

The president began by thanking the G20 members, guest countries and heads of international organizations that participated and made the Leaders’ Summit a success. He also highlighted the work of academics, businesspeople, trade unions and young people at several parallel forums such as the L20, Y20 and B20 who worked for months to submit recommendations and achieve commitments among the G20 participants. The President declared that the VII Leaders’ Summit was characterized by being open and inclusive and working closely with various social sectors and organizations whose opinions and recommendations were taken into account at the Los Cabos meeting.

President Calderón subsequently briefly described the most important agreements reached within the framework of the Summit in order to contribute to addressing several of today’s challenges:

• The Los_Cabos_Growth_and_Jobs_Action_Plan_2012 was signed. The plan established commitments to deal with the eurozone, strengthen demand, economic growth and financial systems, ensure the fiscal consolidation of advanced economies, reinforce solid, sustainable growth in emerging economies and maintain trade liberalization. To this end, an innovative Accountability Mechanism for G20 Objectives was implemented.
• The IMF’s financial resources were increased to over $450 billion USD. This constitutes the greatest capitalization in the history of the Fund, which will increase its capacity to provide support and loans for coping with economic crises.
• Trade facilitation measures were adopted in order to reject protectionism, since it is in the interest of all the Group members to prevent the escalation of protectionism measures from leading to further recession. The president declared that the main agreement established was to extend the Stand Still Clause to 2014, which involves abstaining from implementing protectionist measures, and will guarantee certainty for international markets.
• Advancements were achieved in improving the regulatory framework in order to strengthen financial systems. Progress was made in the creation of an institutional framework, as a result of which the Financial Stability Council will be created, with new statutes to enhance its operativeness and governance.
• In regard to financial inclusion, the president declared that agreements were reached for the Global Alliance for Financial Inclusion, which will measure the progress in the extension of financial services to the population with least resources. In addition, greater financial education will be promoted and protective measures increased for the users of financial services for savings, credits and insurance.
• In regard to food security, the G20 agreed to promote greater public and private investment in order to promote agriculture, develop technology and increase the productivity of the sector. The president announced that Mexico will host the G20 Agricultural Chief Scientists in September. An Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) will be created to prevent worldwide food price speculation.
• For the first time ever, the environmental issue has been established. In particular, Mexico promoted the discussion of topics such as green growth, the elimination of fossil fuel subsidies and measures to increase fuel efficiency, among others. Foremost among these is the launching of the Dialogue Platform on Inclusive Green Investments, which brings together several sectors in order to identify private investment opportunities in green projects that will create growth and employment and at the same time, help preserve the environment. The president declared that this will be one of the legacies of the VII Leaders’ Summit.

President Calderón concluded his address by stating that the second half of the Mexican G20 presidency will be characterized by fulfilling the Summit’s commitments in order to deliver a solid agenda to Russia in December. Lastly, he fielded questions from the media.

Click on the links below to see the entire documents and statements on the following:
– Los_Cabos_Growth_and_Jobs_Action_Plan_2012
– EUROPEAN COUNCIL – Statement by Presidents Herman Van Rompuy and José Manuel Barroso on the results of the G20 summit in Los Cabos