Think20 Event in Washington brings together Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan and representatives from leading think tanks.

Washington -  TEPAV organized the Think-20 meeting titled ‘“Challenges to the Global Economy and the Role of the G-20” on April 16 at the Ronald Reagan building in Washington D.C.

The keynote speaker Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan drew attention to the high representation power of the G20 platform -  G20 countries make up two thirds of  the world’s population, 75 percent of global trade  and 85 of global GDP. DPM Ali Babacan also emphasized that the G20 includes both advanced and developing countries from all continents that contributes to the legitimacy of its decisions.

Addressing more than 200  participants from leading think tanks as well as international organizations and the business world, DPM Ali Babacan elaborated on the Turkish G20 Presidency’s priorities in 2015 -  inclusiveness, implementation and investment. The Turkish G20 Presidency will also work towards improving conditions in low-income developing countries (LIDCs), DPM Ali Babacan noted.

DPM Ali Babacan also answered questions of representatives from Washington-based leading think tanks at the panel discussion moderated by TEPAV Director Güven Sak. The discussion concentrated on Turkey’s G20 Presidency’s agenda relating to the global financial architecture, global governance, low-income developing countries , infrastructure investments and global trade.  Panelists  included Matt Goodman, William E. Simon Chair in Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS); John Lipsky, Senior Fellow in the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University and former vice president of the IMF; Amar Bhattacharya, Senior Fellow  in the Global Economy & Development Program at the Brookings Institution; Staci Warden, Executive Director of the  Center for Financial Markets at Milken Institute ; and Caroline Freund, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute.