G20
ICC Honorary Chairman in Seoul shares business views ahead of G20 summit
Addressing a plenary session of Asia 21, the Korea Ministry of Finance/International Monetary Fund (IMF) conference in Seoul this week, ICC Honorary Chairman Victor Fung told the audience that “Asia can help lead the global recovery from crisis, but countries must avoid the temptation of protectionism. Although the signs are encouraging, the road back to recovery will be longer than we think.”
In his conference remarks, Mr Fung also stressed the need for more inclusive growth: “We need to aim for higher quality growth, for example by investing more in people in the developing world.”
Mr Fung was speaking in the opening plenary session of the conference, alongside other distinguished speakers including: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director of the IMF; Dong-Soo Chin, Chairman, Financial Services Commission of Korea; Yaga Venugopal Reddy, former Governor, Reserve Bank of India; and Gao Xiqing, Vice Chairman, President and Chief Investment Officer of China Investment Corporation.
The conference was part of the run-up to the G20 summit of world leaders and the B20 business summit that will be held in Seoul in November. ICC, as the world business organization, will support the Korean business partners to prepare the B20 Summit and deliver the business agenda to G20 leaders.
During his stay in Korea, Mr Fung met Korean leaders in preparation for the November summits, including: Young-Hak Kim, Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy; Il Sakong, Chairman of the Presidential Committee for the G20 Summit; Jeung-Hyun Yoon, Minister of Strategy and Finance; and Joong-Kyung Choi, Senior Secretary to the President for Economic Affairs.
On the business side, Mr Fung spoke at a lunch hosted by ICC Korea and met with Kim Young-Tae, Chairman of ICC Korea and Chairman of Daesung Group. He also met with Kyung-Shik Sohn, Chairman of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) along with several Vice-Chairman of the KCCI including Yoon-Woo Lee, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics and Yongmaan Park, Chairman and CEO of Doosan Corporation. Mr Fung also met with members of the local media.
“I’m pleased to have met with these Korean leaders and to have discussed plans for Korea’s first hosting of these important international events,” Mr Fung said. “To achieve our common goal of a sustainable global economic recovery, we must all continue to work together to keep trade flowing and ensure the multinational trading system is in good shape. Trade is the lifeblood of the global economy.”
“At the summit, ICC will focus on promoting policy proposals regarding key trade issues, such as the need to resist protectionism and improve the availability of trade finance,” Mr Fung said.
ICC has a long history of delivering world business recommendations to world leaders. Since the early days of the G8, and now the G20, ICC has communicated the views of its business members around the globe, urging summit leaders to maintain open trade, act on climate change, fight counterfeiting and resist economic nationalism. ICC has repeatedly urged leaders to summon the political will to complete the Doha Round of trade negotiations, a process that has been ongoing for nearly 10 years.
Mr Fung said Korean leaders and ICC were looking forward to the November summits. “All of us want to see action, not just words, emerge from these meetings,” he said.
