Going for growth in St Andrews
Posted at 15:27 06 November 2009 by Tom Barry | Comments[0]
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Tom Barry
First Secretary Economics Washington
Friday 06 November, 2009
This weekend, the G20 finance ministers meet in St Andrews in Scotland. This is the final time they will meet this year – after a packed and productive 2009 schedule – and it is the last meeting with the UK in the Chair of the G20. Although St Andrews is the home of golf, delegates would have little time to play even without the programme of meetings: by this time of year the Old Course is down to fewer than nine hours of daylight, getting dark by 4.30pm.
But even as the days draw in and we reach the end of the year, the momentum of the G20 must be maintained. As I’ve written before, international meetings are the culmination of a long process of preparation. And they also provide a powerful deadline for civil servants to get things done. The prospect of your ultimate boss sitting down with other world leaders tends to focus the mind.
Following the successful Summit in Pittsburgh in September, leaders will not again meet until June 2010 in Ontario, Canada. It would be tempting, therefore, to take it easy for a few months. However, the last twelve months have shown the importance of countries working together. To secure economic recovery recovery, we need to ensure a smooth transition from stimulus and to put in place a framework for long-term, sustainable growth.
In St Andrews, we hope that Finance Ministers will agree the details for the Framework for Sustainable Growth. This will provide a more co-operative approach to governing the international economy, recognising that economies are now highly interdependent. This process is based on countries assessing each other’s policies and then agreeing where changes to these plans are needed to achieve balanced growth.
Pittsburgh also confirmed the G20 as the premier forum for international economic discussions. So this relatively new grouping is clearly in for the long haul. Hopefully, amidst the dark of the Scottish winter, the finance ministers can prepare for an economic dawn in 2010 and beyond.
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