At G20, Ivanka Trump Takes the Spotlight – and a Seat
Andrea Shalal
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Ivanka Trump takes her seat at the beginning of the third working session of the G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany, July 8, 2017. Credit: Reuters/Ludovic Marin
Hamburg: US President Donald Trump shared the G20 spotlight on Saturday with his daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump, as she helped launch a loan programme for women and caused a stir by briefly occupying her dad's seat at the table with world leaders.
Ivanka, who ran an eponymous clothing and jewellery business before taking a formal job at the White House, has made women's issues one of her signature policy areas, and the G20 revealed the power she wields as a trusted confidante to the president.
The World Bank used the occasion to launch a public-private loan programme aimed at providing over $1 billion to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries, a project Ivanka first initiated just five months ago.
"This is not a cute little project," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said at the kick-off, attended by six of the 20 world leaders at the summit, plus leaders from other donor countries and IMF managing director Christine Lagarde.
"This is going to be a major driver of economic growth in the future ... and it’s going to drive gender equality at the same time,” Kim said.
He underscored the importance of having a "champion" like Ivanka to galvanise action on an important issue.
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