1st LD: G20 FM meeting kicks off in Germany to address international issues

Foreign ministers of the G20 convened here on Thursday for a two-day meeting to discuss international issues on sustainability, conflict prevention and cooperation with Africa.

"Foreign policy is, and must be, more than crisis management," German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said in a statement issued prior to the G20 meeting.

"We are well advised not to constantly run from one fire to the next, putting out the flames. That is why it is so important that the 20 largest countries (economies) in the world are meeting to address the causes of conflicts and the options for peaceful crisis prevention and conflict resolution," he said.

"No country in the world can tackle the major international problems of our time alone," Gabriel noted. "Terrorism, water scarcity, forced migration and humanitarian emergencies cannot be resolved by isolation. Climate change cannot be tackled by barbed wire," he added.

The G20 is comprised of 19 countries plus the European Union. The countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, Britain and the United States. Endit