G20 summit kicks off with discussions on terrorism, trade, climate change

German chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) has decided to place the fight against terrorism first on the agenda of July 7-8 G20 summit in Hamburg, her speaker Steffen Seibert (CDU) revealed in a schedule outline on Friday. 

The summit will launch with an official welcoming ceremony at the Messehallen complex hosted by Merkel for the heads of state of the 20 largest industrialized and developing nations. Amongst others, Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are attending the conference, marking the first personal encounter between the latter two. 

Following Merkel's welcoming words, the international leaders will hold a two-and-a-half hour "retreat" where they will discuss the fight against terrorism in an intimate atmosphere. 

After the retreat, a working lunch is scheduled under the heading "global growth and trade."

In the afternoon, a final session for the day will be held on "sustainable development, climate change and energy" before the dignitaries are driven to the newly constructed Elbphilharmonie concert hall for musical entertainment and dinner. 

While the fight against terrorism is a relatively uncontroversial concern among the G20, meetings on trade and climate change could prove an early sticking point for the group. 

By embracing a protectionist stance and declaring his country's departure from the Paris climate accord, U.S. President Donald Trump has raised doubts over Washington's commitment to free trade and combating climate change. 

In a further snub to multilateral efforts to reduce human CO2 emissions, Trump announced that he intended to hold officials talks with Vladimir Putin on Friday afternoon rather than attending the session on sustainable development, climate change and energy. 

Nonetheless, Barbara Hendricks (SPD) Germany's Minster for the Environment told the newspaper Passauer Neue Presse that Trump had brought the international community closer together on climate changing by "isolating himself" on the issue. 

"Sustainable development" will be another sensitive topic on Friday, given the mass rallies held by globalization critics throughout Hamburg. Gerd Mueller (CSU), the German Minister for Development proposed a "Marshall Plan" for Africa to improve the continent's material fortunes.

"We, the rich countries, have made Africa poor. The G20 can change this," he told the "Redaktions-Netzwerk-Deutschland". Unless they found jobs and perspectives in their home countries, more and more Africans would be forced to emigrate. 

More than 19,000 police officers are deployed in Hamburg to ensure the safety of the G20 summit. Protestors have clashed violently with police at several demonstrations since Thursday night. 

Security experts have warned that as many as 100,000 individuals could join demonstrations against the summit in the city on Saturday, 10,000 of which are potentially violent.