Minister Altmaier at meeting of G20 Trade and Digital Economy Ministers in Japan: “It is more important than ever that G20 states provide impetus for free trade!”

Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier will be attending the meeting of G20 Trade and Digital Economy Ministers that will take place in Tsukuba, Japan, on 8 and 9 June 2019. The political priorities of G20 meetings are the future of the multilateral trading system, the creation of a level playing field and international cooperation on the digital policy framework.

Peter Altmaier said: “Free and rules-based trade makes a major contribution to our economic prosperity. At the meeting of G20 Trade Ministers, I therefore will, together with the EU, call for open markets. In view of the current trade-policy tensions, it is more important than ever that the G20 states also provide a strong impetus for free trade and open markets. The meeting of the G20 Digital Economy Ministers focuses on the opportunities of digitisation, the significance of unhindered data flows across borders and the importance of data protection.”

The meetings of G20 Digital Economy Ministers were initiated during the German G20 Presidency in 2017. The first meeting of G20 Digital Economy Ministers took place in Düsseldorf, Germany. Argentina and Japan have continued the process of Digital Economy Ministers meetings.

The meeting of G20 Digital Economy Ministers will be held on Saturday, 8 June, and the meeting of G20 Trade Ministers on Sunday, 9 June. On the Saturday, there will also be a joint meeting of the G20 Digital Economy and Trade Ministers.