Thursday, October 28, 2021
The G20 introduces itself as its successor
Merkel takes Scholz to bilateral meetings
This invitation is historic: Chancellor Merkel is taking her likely successor Scholz with her to the G20 summit. Participation in a double pack should signal continuity, it is said. It is an opportunity for Scholz to establish himself on the international stage – and to cultivate important friendships.
Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz will be able to present himself as a likely new Federal Chancellor at the upcoming G20 summit in Rome. Chancellor Angela Merkel invited Scholz to take part in her bilateral meeting with other heads of state and government on the sidelines of the summit, government circles say. Among other things, a meeting with US President Joe Biden is planned.
The joint appearances of the Chancellor and her likely successor will send “a special signal effect”, it was said in government circles. Germany could thus “signal a lot of continuity in the G20 process”. It is “definitely a historical thing” that “the predecessor with the possible successor will appear” at the upcoming summit.
In addition to the meeting with US President Biden, bilateral meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the heads of state and government of Argentina, Singapore, India and South Korea are also planned. A meeting of four at the top level with the USA, France, Great Britain and Germany on Iran policy is also being planned.
The heads of the G20 group will meet in Rome on Saturday for their first summit since the beginning of the corona pandemic. The group includes 19 major economies from all over the world as well as the EU. The presidents of Russia and China are not taking part in person because of the corona pandemic, they are connecting via video.