U.S. President Donald Trump arrived at the G20 summit in Hamburg, in spite of protesters’ efforts to slow him down.
He was one of the last world leaders to arrive for a greeting from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Protesters launched a sit-in across a street that Trump could have taken to the summit but the police cleared it, while Trump’s entourage took a long path around the city, circumventing the protesters.
Trump’s vehicle, nicknamed the Beast, was seen moving at high speeds through the city as the police cleared a sit-in protest that was blocking one of the routes Trump’s motorcade could have possibly taken to the G20 summit.
About 25 to 30 burnt out cars in the Altona and Blankenese districts of Hamburg were seen by a dpa photographer as the Group of 20 summit got under way.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel officially welcomed world leaders to the Group of 20 summit even as staff struggled behind the scenes to overcome differences and forge agreement on the meeting’s declaration.
Observers will also be watching to see where this G20 stands on trade.
The statement from 2016’s G20 summit in China stressed the group’s commitment to rejecting protectionism and promoting global trade.
However, the Trump White House has been successful in removing references to fighting protectionism from the communiques of international forums, most notably during the meeting of G20 finance ministers in March.
Friday’s agenda also includes a discussion about measures for fighting terrorism that could result in broad support among G20 leaders.
British Prime Minister Theresa May plans to focus on the subject in her speech.
The G20 leaders’ talks on the sidelines of the summit are also likely to focus on the more-than six-year bloody conflict in Syria and the threat to global security posed by this week’s missile launch by North Korea.
The G20 leaders are also due to attend a concert in Hamburg’s new Elbphilharmonie concert house on Friday night featuring the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra playing the EU’s unofficial anthem, “The Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
The concert is to be followed by a dinner hosted by Merkel and informal meetings between the government chiefs attending the summit that are likely to stretch well into the night.
