3rd LD: Pro-growth, anti-terror measures high on G20 summit agenda

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday urged Group of 20 (G20) leaders to focus on growth strategies in their summit in the Turkish seaside resort of Antalya.

He started his speech at the start of the summit's first working session with one minute of silence for the victims died in the recent terrorist attacks in Ankara and Paris.

"There is a strong link between the economy and security, and we cannot neglect those connections," said Erdogan, adding that economy is the main area of interest for the G20, but it cannot be independent from political, social or cultural problems, and it is never independent from human life.

"Despite all the steps that have been taken, we unfortunately did not see a strong global economic performance at a desired level," he said.

Early in November, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development trimmed its forecast for global economic growth to 2.9 percent this year and 3.3 percent in 2016, down from the previous predictions of 3.0 percent and 3.6 percent. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also made similar pessimist projections recently.

In last year's summit in Australia's Brisbane, the G20 set itself an ambitious goal to lift their gross domestic product by at least an additional two percent by 2018, agreeing on measures to lift investment, trade and competition, and employment.

However, Tristram Sainsbury, research fellow with G20 studies center at Lowy Institute for International Policy, said the G20 growth strategy is not adding to growth, and that the G20 members need to do more to coordinate their pro-growth policy.

Taking over the baton, Turkey, the host of the summit, has highlighted the "three Is", inclusiveness, implementation and investment, on G20's agenda to revitalize a sluggish global economy.

On the eve of the summit, a wave of terrorist attacks rocked the French capital of Paris, killing 129 people and injuring many more. The Islamic State (IS) militant group has claimed responsibility.

The G20 is expected to put out a statement on fighting terrorism later Sunday.

The IS has also said that it was behind the Oct. 31 crash of a Russian airliner over Egypt's Sinai and suicide bombings in Lebanon last Thursday .

Turkey has beefed up security for the Antalya summit, deploying at least 12,000 security personnel.

A spate of terror attacks struck Turkey recently, the largest occurring in Ankara on Oct. 10, killing 102 people.

Refugee crisis is also going to be included in the summit's agenda. A four-year-old war in Syria has spilled over, forcing millions of people to flee to Turkey, Lebanon and other countries. Endit