The A to Z of G-20
The Times of India, April 1, 2009, Page 13
And what will be Brown’s return gift?
He will present goodie bags that will showcase “British creativity”. They will include a tie designed by one of three British tailors (Ozwald Boateng, Timothy Everest and Richard James), a tea towel from Ulster-based linen producer Thomas Ferguson Irish Linen, Kelly Hoppen candles, and Rococo chocolates. What about those world leaders who don’t wear ties — Will they get an alternative gift? It’s not known
Very little on the table
Stung by criticism about stuffing palates while talking poverty, Brown has taken the knife to the menu. The banquet has only 6 courses. According to some sources, two of them are asparagus as starters, Welsh lamb as the main course and flat bread.
What all will Obame bring?
Air Force One has a gym, electronic defence units and shielding to protect it from nuclear blasts. At Stansted, Obama will transfer to his helicopter Marine One, which has flares and anti-missile countermeasures to deal with heat-seeking and radar-guided missiles. Obama will travel around London aboard Cadillac One, which does eight miles to the gallon and is described as “a panic room on wheels”. It is equipped with shotguns, tear gas, a night-vision camera and bags of Obama’s blood (group AB). Among the 500 or so US personnel who will travel with the president are nurses and surgeons
How many Gs are there?
There’s G8: the seven richest nations with an extra place for Russia. The number after the G doesn’t have to be accurate. So G77, representing developing nations at the UN, has 130 members. But lower the number after the G, the more important it is. Some might argue that the most effective group within this G20 will be G2: US and China. We would like to believe that it will be G3: US, China and India.
Will there be protests?
There are protests planned for the City, east London, the West End and at many embassies around the capital most of Wednesday and Thursday. First off will be four simultaneous marches, led by effigies of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, which will leave Moorgate, Liverpool Street, Cannon Street and London Bridge stations at 11am, converging on the Bank of England. The issues range from war, climate chaos, financial crimes and land enclosures. Meanwhile, 1,500 people plan to bring tents and erect a climate camp in the City outside the European Climate Exchange at Bishopsgate at lunchtime. On top of that, Stop The War Coalition will march from the US embassy in Grosvenor Square to Trafalgar Square in the afternoon.
Who will be the star of G20?
Dumb question. Barack Obama, of course. He is, as he said, ready to lead. The other traditional headline-grabbers is France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, as heavy a hitter internationally as he’s easily dismissed domestically. But the real star apart from Obama is likely to be China’s Wen Jiabao and India’s Manmohan Singh — leaders of two countries that are still growing while the rest are contracting. That’s why they have been invited to join G20 Financial Stability Forum, the recession firefighting committee. As Newsweek says, the two other BRIC members, Brazil and Russia, might be more outspoken but the words of China and India will carry greater weight
Why is Obama not landing at Heathrow and instead reaching Stansted? Is Heathrow unsafe?
No, that’s not the reason. When Bush flew to Heathrow a few years ago, it caused lots of disruption to other flights. So Obama decided to land his Air Force One jet somewhere else. Five airports were considered, and Stansted found most convenient (although Ryanair passengers who use Stansted may not think so). Obama will land at Stansted’s executive Harrods terminal, whose facilities include a shop selling Harrods teddy bears
What’s G20? Who’s the 20?
Well it’s not 20. G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the US and whoever happens to hold the rotating EU presidency, currently the Czechs. But Spain and the Netherlands will also be there. The respective chairs of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the African Union Commission, and the president of the EU Commission will also join the party. Not to forget the heads of UN, World Bank and IMF. Regular G20 meetings are for finance ministers and central bankers from what are described as “systemically important industrialised and developing economies”. This one is for the leaders of those economies because the world’s finances are in a mess.
Who are the first ladies to watch out for?
This was billed as the Michelle and Carla show. But the French first lady has made a last minute diplomatic withdrawal as the French would consider it a terrible lapse if the two first ladies were to meet for their style battle on British soil. But there’s Veronica Lario, Silvio Berlusconi’s wife, as long as she turns up.
Gordon Brown is hosting a lavish banquet. What’s the seating order?
No one is ready to give that out. According to protocol, the host and heads of state (as opposed to heads of government) should be seated towards the centre. Which probably means Manmohan Singh, head of the Indian government, will be out on the end. It’s also important to put VIPs next to people they might get on with. For the summit itself, it’s said that the “protocol of seating...is decided by the host country and based on a logical ordering system, for example alphabetical order”
The Times of India, April 1, 2009, Page 13
And what will be Brown’s return gift?
He will present goodie bags that will showcase “British creativity”. They will include a tie designed by one of three British tailors (Ozwald Boateng, Timothy Everest and Richard James), a tea towel from Ulster-based linen producer Thomas Ferguson Irish Linen, Kelly Hoppen candles, and Rococo chocolates. What about those world leaders who don’t wear ties — Will they get an alternative gift? It’s not known
Very little on the table
Stung by criticism about stuffing palates while talking poverty, Brown has taken the knife to the menu. The banquet has only 6 courses. According to some sources, two of them are asparagus as starters, Welsh lamb as the main course and flat bread.
What all will Obame bring?
Air Force One has a gym, electronic defence units and shielding to protect it from nuclear blasts. At Stansted, Obama will transfer to his helicopter Marine One, which has flares and anti-missile countermeasures to deal with heat-seeking and radar-guided missiles. Obama will travel around London aboard Cadillac One, which does eight miles to the gallon and is described as “a panic room on wheels”. It is equipped with shotguns, tear gas, a night-vision camera and bags of Obama’s blood (group AB). Among the 500 or so US personnel who will travel with the president are nurses and surgeons
How many Gs are there?
There’s G8: the seven richest nations with an extra place for Russia. The number after the G doesn’t have to be accurate. So G77, representing developing nations at the UN, has 130 members. But lower the number after the G, the more important it is. Some might argue that the most effective group within this G20 will be G2: US and China. We would like to believe that it will be G3: US, China and India.
Will there be protests?
There are protests planned for the City, east London, the West End and at many embassies around the capital most of Wednesday and Thursday. First off will be four simultaneous marches, led by effigies of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, which will leave Moorgate, Liverpool Street, Cannon Street and London Bridge stations at 11am, converging on the Bank of England. The issues range from war, climate chaos, financial crimes and land enclosures. Meanwhile, 1,500 people plan to bring tents and erect a climate camp in the City outside the European Climate Exchange at Bishopsgate at lunchtime. On top of that, Stop The War Coalition will march from the US embassy in Grosvenor Square to Trafalgar Square in the afternoon.
Who will be the star of G20?
Dumb question. Barack Obama, of course. He is, as he said, ready to lead. The other traditional headline-grabbers is France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, as heavy a hitter internationally as he’s easily dismissed domestically. But the real star apart from Obama is likely to be China’s Wen Jiabao and India’s Manmohan Singh — leaders of two countries that are still growing while the rest are contracting. That’s why they have been invited to join G20 Financial Stability Forum, the recession firefighting committee. As Newsweek says, the two other BRIC members, Brazil and Russia, might be more outspoken but the words of China and India will carry greater weight
Why is Obama not landing at Heathrow and instead reaching Stansted? Is Heathrow unsafe?
No, that’s not the reason. When Bush flew to Heathrow a few years ago, it caused lots of disruption to other flights. So Obama decided to land his Air Force One jet somewhere else. Five airports were considered, and Stansted found most convenient (although Ryanair passengers who use Stansted may not think so). Obama will land at Stansted’s executive Harrods terminal, whose facilities include a shop selling Harrods teddy bears
What’s G20? Who’s the 20?
Well it’s not 20. G20 members are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the US and whoever happens to hold the rotating EU presidency, currently the Czechs. But Spain and the Netherlands will also be there. The respective chairs of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the African Union Commission, and the president of the EU Commission will also join the party. Not to forget the heads of UN, World Bank and IMF. Regular G20 meetings are for finance ministers and central bankers from what are described as “systemically important industrialised and developing economies”. This one is for the leaders of those economies because the world’s finances are in a mess.
Who are the first ladies to watch out for?
This was billed as the Michelle and Carla show. But the French first lady has made a last minute diplomatic withdrawal as the French would consider it a terrible lapse if the two first ladies were to meet for their style battle on British soil. But there’s Veronica Lario, Silvio Berlusconi’s wife, as long as she turns up.
Gordon Brown is hosting a lavish banquet. What’s the seating order?
No one is ready to give that out. According to protocol, the host and heads of state (as opposed to heads of government) should be seated towards the centre. Which probably means Manmohan Singh, head of the Indian government, will be out on the end. It’s also important to put VIPs next to people they might get on with. For the summit itself, it’s said that the “protocol of seating...is decided by the host country and based on a logical ordering system, for example alphabetical order”
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1 comment:
Thanks for the review :), I was a little unclear on few things (Poor Ryanair customer :)). The summit went well, I think. Lots of topics discussed, Mr. Obama gave a pretty good impression. Thanks for the article,
Elli
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