Saturday, February 18, 2012

Hillary Clinton at the G-20 Ministerial in Los Cabos: A Preview

Organized by Mexico's Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa, the inaugural meeting of foreign ministers of G-20 nations and other selected invitees  will not bear the heft and influence of  traditional G-20s,  but will follow a less formal protocol.  No major policy decisions will be made,  no seminal communiques will be issued, and the focus will be on broad non-financial global issues. As outlined by a senior State Department official today,
"This is going to focus on broad non-financial global issues, some of which have been discussed by G-20 leaders in the past, but some of which are new to the G-20 process or at least have not been emphasized to any great degree, including some broad economic governance issues, some environmental issues, development policy, and green growth...."

Secretary Clinton is expected to address a number of themes about which she has spoken in depth over that past year including include protections, regulations, subsidies to either state-owned or state-supported companies, and intellectual property piracy.
The official went on to state:
"... this, really, is designed to say look, in the 21st century, a lot of the barriers to trade, a lot of the distortions to trade, are not the ones that we’re focused on largely in the 20thcentury, which were at the border. Many of these are behind the border measures that tend to distort trade, tend to distort investment, work to the disadvantage not only of American companies but of other private sector companies around the world. So we’re not saying we’re forcing you or encouraging you to play by rules that we come up with, that we dictate. What we’re simply saying is that there are global rules. These global rules and norms have been established for years, and it’s very important for players in the global system to play by global rules and adhere to global norms. So this is one of the major themes that she’s going to talk about in terms of economic governance and will focus on in her initial comments.
Then, there are going to be other sessions in which she’s going to highlight the following subjects. One, the fight against climate change, specifically the initiative on short-term pollutants that she launched yesterday, and she’ll emphasize the importance of a positive outcome to the Rio+20 summit, which all of you know is something we’ve been working very hard on here in the Department and other agencies of government also. She’ll also address the need to ensure freedom of navigation and maritime security to promote a well-functioning global economy. And she’ll also address some governance issues like fight against corruption and bribery."
He went on to note that Mme. Secretary will be leaving the conference prior to the final session because she must get back to Washington because
"... the next day she has the first-ever Global Business Conference that she is going to be hosting, where we have representatives, business leaders, business facilitators from over a hundred countries coming to Washington to discuss global business issues, trade, investment, and the global rules for improving the global system to enhance business opportunities for American companies, and indeed, the global system as a whole. So, that’s another event."
Yes, it is, and it is another week without a weekend to rest. (Just sayin'.) HRC's diligence is simply amazing. I did see an unsubstantiated report from a foreign source that she will be traveling next weekend as well to attend a conference on Syria. She works so hard. The senior spokesperson did make this point in his remarks.
"... the reason the Mexicans called this is to have the opportunity for these ministers to reflect on important challenges facing the global community. And as you see, the kinds of things she’ll be discussing are challenges that face the global community, and her leadership in this process is very important at this meeting and it will strengthen our voice in various fora going forward on these types of issues."
I simply cannot see who is going to fill those little kitten heels when she leaves!