4 May 2017

IOE President at B20 Summit

IOE President Daniel Funes de Rioja attended the B20 Summit in Berlin on 2-3 May 2017. On the morning of 2 May he participated in a Global Chamber Platform and highlighted the perspective of the B20 on the upcoming Argentinean presidency.

In his speech he presented the three main work streams of the B20 this year, including the major role of the IOE in developing the B20 Employment Recommendations for the G20 leaders. He explained that the Argentinean B20 would also participate actively in the G20 employment process and the G20 labour ministerial and would engage with the L20 and follow up on joint commitments.

At the Summit, Mr Funes de Rioja moderated a session on the topic of ‘Responsiveness and Responsibility’ and was invited to participate in a discussion with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on 3 May, following her keynote address. In his speech, he announced that he has been appointed by the President of Argentina to be Chair of B20 Argentina and that UIA will take the lead in organising B20 Argentina. He highlighted that as in the past, the IOE and BIAC will be closely involved in the work of the Task Force.

Finally, he reiterated the need for structural reforms to create enabling environments for companies to hire more individuals and to do so more quickly, which he hopes that B20 Argentina will strongly advocate for. He congratulated B20 Germany for a job well done this year and believes that B20 Argentina will follow in this way.