As preparations accelerate for this year’s Group of 20 Summit, which kicks off November 30 in Buenos Aires, host country Argentina held a number of key meeting of business, labor and other stakeholders on September 6-7 in the Andean foothills city of Mendoza. USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson attended alongside high-level representatives of G20 governments, business and labor.

Among the gatherings were the G20 Labor Ministerial, which featured cabinet-level labor officials from each of the G20 nations, including U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta, and the Global Employers Forum, organized by the B20 (Business 20), the International Organization of Employers (IOE) and Deloitte.

At the latter event, USCIB’s Robinson took part in a discussion on implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, alongside Kyra Kaszynski of Deloitte and Dante Pesce, chair of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. Pointing to the Business for 2030 platform launched by USCIB to align business activities with the SDGs, Robinson urged governments and employers groups to do their utmost to foster support for the SDGs in their national business communities, including among small and medium-sized enterprises.

“Many SMEs connect with larger companies via cross-border commerce, trade, and investment,” Robinson stated. “So there can be a link and opportunity for larger companies to pass these ‘good business practice’ principles on to smaller national firms, both through supply chain links and and by making expectations clear.”

Recognizing the relevance of cooperation and constructive discussion, business leaders released joint B20 statements on employment and education. “As key priorities for the G20 Argentine presidency, both statements aimed to provide concrete, consensus-based, policy recommendations focusing on implementation,” the B20 stated. “In this collaborative spirit, our mission has been to identify and address current challenges and opportunities in the fields of education and employment while advancing with a concrete call to action for G20 countries. We believe these are valuable efforts to lead the way into more sustainable and inclusive societies.”

Robinson, IOE President Erol Kiresepi and Gerhard Braun, vice president of the German employers federation BDA, serve as co-chairs of the B20 Employment and Education Task Force. The B20 will hold its summit in advance of the G20, on October 4-5 in Buenos Aires.