Hello everyone.  Thank you all for joining us.  It’s a pleasure to be here in Hamburg, Germany, as we conclude another successful meeting of the G20.  I’d like to thank Chancellor Merkel for being a gracious host in welcoming myself, the other visiting leaders and our respective delegations to her country.  It’s always a feat to host these events and we appreciate the Chancellor’s hospitality.

Last time I was here in Hamburg, I gave an address at the St. Matthew’s Day banquet a few months ago, and in that speech I talked about the growing anxieties facing folks around the world – anxieties around automation, growing inequality, and the rise of isolationism.  I know that in Canada we try to keep those fears in mind as our government charts a path for the future, and I’m proud that this G20 Summit has been focused on addressing those very real, very universal challenges as well.

I am pleased to announce that, in recent days, we have finished some very productive work sessions. As part of these sessions, our discussions included our shared objective, which is to grow our economies so that everyone can reap the benefits, and not just the wealthiest one percent. We know that there are some steps that we can take, some things we can do to reach this objective.

To start with, we can strive to make trade more progressive and open. We can proudly make ourselves the champions of gender equality and of the full socio-economic contribution of women to their communities, and we can see to it that, in the future, our economies are focused on clean growth by encouraging sustainable and responsible economic development.

We agreed on the establishment of a task force on women in business, a task force that will connect leading businesswomen in all G20 countries and enhance networking opportunities.  Further, it will make recommendations to leaders at next year’s summit on how to accelerate the implementation of G20 commitments on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

And, finally, along that same vein, I’m happy to announce that Canada will contribute $20 million toward the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative led by the World Bank.  This program will help women business owners in developing countries access financing and tools they need in order to grow and sustain their businesses.  Ultimately, this will lead to stronger economies, stronger communities, and a stronger world.

Ladies and gentlemen, in an increasingly interconnected world, we realize the importance of partnership.  We know that working together isn’t just the best option, it’s the only option.  Indeed, it’s the only way we can meet the challenges of the 21^st century.  So we continue our history of strong cooperation and multilateral bodies, like here at the G20, for the benefit of Canada, for the benefit of Canadians, and for the benefit of the whole world.