Rubio Backs Poland as Full G20 Participant Ahead of Doral Summit

Rubio welcomes Poland as G20 'full participant', looks to Doral summit

Atlanta, Oct 31

"I'd also like to take a moment to note the inclusion of Poland as a full participant in this G20," Rubio said at the welcome reception for the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting at the Georgia Aquarium on Friday evening.

"President Trump believes their economic success and growing global influence is exactly what the G20 needs to tackle the major economic challenges we all face, and we're very excited to have them with us here today and this week," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski told reporters in Atlanta that India was among the countries he had lobbied to support Poland's bid for permanent membership of the G20.

"The United States has tabled a resolution to the effect that Poland would be a permanent member. And yes, I've been lobbying colleagues to support that motion, including India," Sikorski said in response to a question from IANS.

He noted that "the last, and if memory serves, only formal enlargement of the G20 happened under the Indian presidency," which brought in the African Union, and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while receiving Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in India a few days ago, had "committed India to supporting" Poland's membership.

Sikorski said he had asked all the ministers he met on the sidelines for support for Poland's membership and that "almost all of them" agreed. "Some have already declared it publicly," he said.

In his remarks, Rubio said the ministers' task was to prepare the ground for the summit of G20 leaders, hosted by the United States at Doral, Florida.

"Our job is obviously, as I said earlier today, to create the platform in the - upon which our leaders will be able to meet in a few weeks in Doral and really have a successful G20," he said.

"This week we maintain that sharp focus on our economic interests, building on our prior meetings, and setting the stage for our leaders and their summit in Doral in just a few weeks," Rubio said, adding that the US presidency had held gatherings on trade, fiscal and monetary policy, emerging technology and energy.

He said it was "President Trump's mission and many of your leaders' missions to see that this group focuses on core economic policy issues."

"The economic challenges facing our countries are complex and they are interconnected. Because we all face these challenges, we must all work together to address them," Rubio said.

"The future of our nations depend on our willingness to understand that while our interests may not always align, we should always seek to work together to advance them when and where they do align," he said.

Rubio also said it was in the economic and national security interests of the United States "that we are energy dominant, that we have robust supply chains, that we remove the regulatory hurdles that hamper growth, and that we lead in the advancement of super intelligence and other critical emerging technologies."

The G20 foreign ministers conclude their meeting in Atlanta on Saturday with a session on supply chains and closing remarks by Rubio, according to the State Department's public schedule.

— IANS