The G20 began as a forum for Finance Ministers and Bank Governors in 1999, but with the addition of the Leaders’ Summits in 2008, the Executive Office (or in the case of the 2017 G20 – the German Federal Chancellery) began to play a central role within the G20. A general division of labour has evolved in preparing G20 Leaders’ Summits whereby most economic and financial issues are managed through the Finance Track, and many non-economic issues are managed through the Sherpa Track via the G20 President’s executive office and an appointed Sherpa.

Foreign Offices and the G20

But what of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, or in the case of the 2017 G20 President, the Auswärtige Amt or German Federal Foreign Office? The prominent role accorded to the heads of government and finance ministers in the G20 process has not been extended to Foreign Offices. The Foreign Ministers of the G20 will meet on 16 and 17 February in Bonn, Germany, but such meetings have only occasionally taken place in the context of the G20. There is no need to establish a G20 work stream dedicated to foreign policy, but the question is worth asking: What role should a Foreign Office play within the G20?

The relative under-utilisation of a Foreign Office in G20 Summit preparation may not be in the interests of a G20 that wants to give itself the best chance of realising its commitments. For example, the 2017 G20 President has announced that one of its priorities in 2017 will be promoting sustainable development in Africa. However, closing the gap between the announcement and actual achievement of such priorities will require the allocation of political capital, including diplomatic resources. How should the German G20 Presidency proceed?

To read the full “G20 Engagement and the Foreign Office” article by Dr Larry Crump, Deputy Director of the APEC Study Centre at the Griffith Asia Institute, please visit the G20 – T20 Blog.