History of the G20

The inaugural meeting took place on 15–16 December 1999 in Berlin. In 2008 Spain and

Netherlands were included by French invitation for the G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial

Markets and the World Economy. In September 1999, the finance ministers and central bank

governors of the Group of Seven countries (the G-7) announced their intention to “broaden the

dialogue on key economic and financial policy issues among systemically significant economies

and promote co-operation to achieve stable and sustainable world economic growth that benefits

all.” This announcement marked the official birth of what subsequently became known as the

Group of Twenty countries (the G-20). 19 countries plus the European Union, which is

represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank.

The G-20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff. The chair rotates annually among the

members and is selected from a different regional grouping of countries. The chair is part of a

revolving three-member management group of past, present and future chairs referred to as the

Troika. The incumbent chair establishes a temporary secretariat for the duration of its term,

which coordinates the group's work and organizes its meetings. The role of the Troika is to

ensure continuity in the G-20's work and management across host years. The current chair of

G20 is France; it was handed over from South Korea after the G20 Summit during November

Reason for its formation

Roles of the G20

• Technical advice, surveillance, and research.

• The G20 is a network. It has no formal rules of membership, and states have

not delegated formal authority to the group to make decisions. It brought

leaders of the world’s largest economies together to forge a common

response to the crisis.

• The G20 has always depended on formal international organizations

(especially the IMF, the World Bank, and the Bank for International

Settlements), as well as other networks (the Financial Stability Forum and the

Basel committees) to follow through and implement its recommendations.

This is unlikely to change in the future.

• Twenty world leaders came together in Seoul in November 2010 to discuss

the state of the global economy as it emerges from the financial crisis.

Together, they took the necessary steps to reduce market volatility and move

past the crisis, creating sustainable growth going forward.

REFERENCE

http://www.ecofair-trade.org/pics/en/GIP25-G20-en.pdf