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At the G-20 summit held in Pittsburgh on Sept. 24-25, world leaders reviewed the progress made since the Washington and London summits and discussed further actions to assure a sound and sustainable recovery from the global financial and economic crisis.
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As a member state, Turkey was represented by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at this summit. According to analysts, the main achievements of the global event were the institutionalization of the G-20 as the new economic forum for world leaders to provide tighter coordination of their economic policies in an effort to keep imbalances from taking place, and Turkey's increasing influence on the determination of the world's economic policies. According to Sabah's Erdal Şafak, Turkey is among the countries which had many gains from the G-20 summit held in Pittsburgh, as he explains: “With the replacement of the G-7/8 with the G-20, Turkey will have a say in global decision-making mechanisms. Up to now, Turkey has had to implement the policies and decisions of the G-7/8 but from now on it will be among the countries which sign the decisions. Turkey's influence in the International Monetary Fund [IMF], which has been commissioned to coordinate the implementation of the G-20 decisions, will increase because it was decided that 5 percent of the quotas of the European countries (such as the UK, Belgium, and Netherlands) at the IMF are transferred to rising economies. This quota change will mostly be to the benefit of China, Turkey and South Korea. Finally, as a member of the G-20, Turkey will have the authority to warn other members of the group about their economic policies. For instance, if a European country or EU member state attempts to implement an economic policy which does not comply with the G-20 consensus, Turkey will be able to intervene and even ask for an account from that country.” In his view, this evens the score for Turkey, which had to implement EU economic policies just for the sake of its membership bid to join the EU. “The G-20 summit held in Pittsburgh was very important as it gave signs about how the 21st century international picture would be. It was particularly important for Turkey,” says Hürriyet's Cengiz Çandar, who thinks Turkey's membership in the G-20, which he says is the equivalent of the Central Decision and Administration Board (MKYK) for the world, is of great importance. The G-20 includes 85 percent of the world's trade and population; hence, Turkey being a member of this group as a country which has the 16th or 17th largest economy in the world is both natural and meaningful, Çandar says. In his view, Turkey certainly has some shortcomings regarding democratization, institutionalization and being a country which is governed by the rule of law. However, he thinks Turkey can overcome all of these problems and eliminate them thanks to the opportunities and global dynamics that being a G-20 member will bring. In the wake of this, Çandar says while making assessments and comments about Turkey, it is necessary to get rid of an inferiority complex and look to the future with optimism because there is much to be optimistic about. He says some of the concrete results of Turkey being a member of the G-20, which functions as an international administrator and organizer, are: “Turkey is indivisible. Turkey has to develop and grow with stability. Turkey has power and influence which go beyond its borders. If we fail to understand the importance of the G-20 summit held in Pittsburgh in Turkey's history today, we will certainly understand it in 2020 when we look at the past. There are only 10 years left; let's wait and see,” Çandar says.
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| 28 September 2009, Monday |
| FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK |
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