Speaking about the G20 summit, which will be held on July 7-8 in Hamburg, Russian President’s Representative in G20 Svetlana Lukash noted that traditionally, the leaders' meetings are held behind closed doors and reporters attend only the speech by the summit’s chairperson.
The summit’s official opening is scheduled for around noon on July 7, the first session will traditionally be devoted to the issues of global economic growth, Lukash recalled.
"However, this year an unusual format will be introduced. A separate meeting will be held even before the opening ceremony. This will be an informal discussion where only the G20 leaders will take part, without invited countries and the heads of international organizations," the President’s Representative in G20 explained.
She added that the meeting will be devoted to political issues - fighting terrorism and organized crime, regional conflicts as well as other sensitive issues. "This is the Chancellor's personal decision. She would like to start the summit with it, to discuss these issues in a closed-door format, and then move on to the usual G20 agenda," TASS cited Lukash as saying.
Sherpa said that it is the third summit, starting with Antalya in 2015, "where we see political issues, especially the fight against terrorism, included in the official program". "However, this does not affect the regular work of the G20. The G20 does not change its priorities, the overall focus is on ensuring sustainable balanced economic growth and cooperation on financial topics," she stressed.
According to her, the summit will definitely be "outstanding and highly successful".
