G20 Finance Chiefs Seek to Spur Global Economic Growth

A leading international economic organization says governments around the world are not doing enough to implement a series of policies once agreed upon to boost economic growth in the coming years. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in its annual growth report released Monday, urged countries to follow through on "comprehensive growth strategies" such as increasing labor productivity and becoming more competitive and innovative. The report was published as finance ministers and central bankers from the world's 20 leading economies gathered in Istanbul for Monday's opening of a G20 meeting aimed at coordinating action to spur economic growth. Participants will discuss efforts toward meeting their commitment made last year to lift the global economic output by two percent in 2018. Concerns of the G20 ministers about major economies running at different speeds, and monetary policies diverging will also be on the agenda. The meeting will continue Tuesday. Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said Sunday tackling sluggish growth and giving low-income nations a greater voice are among the priorities for Turkey's G20 presidency. Babacan said pushing G20 members to meet previous reform commitments would be key. Fulfilling pledges made at November's G20 summit in Brisbane could add more than $2 trillion to the global economy and create millions of new jobs over the next four years, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in a blog post Friday. Another top G20 concern is whether the United States alone can sustain the global economy as most of the world slows. Influencing the G20 ministers' plans are the Greek government's demands to restructure its debt, cheap oil-influencing inflation and growth forecasts, and a strengthening dollar threatening emerging economies. Also on the agenda will be a request by France to discuss the fight against terrorist financing, an important topic for Turkey as fighting with Islamic State militants continues just over its southern borders in Syria and Iraq.



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