November 18th (AMSP/CGTN) – – The Group of Twenty works to address major issues related to the global economy. It consists of 19 sovereign countries, the European Union and the African Union.
G20 countries account for 85% of the world’s economic output, more than 75% of global trade and include two-thirds of the world’s population.
The group was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis and was designed to be a forum for finance ministers and officials to discuss ways to restore economic stability.
The first leaders’ summit was held in 2008 in response to that year’s global financial turmoil, to promote international cooperation.
In 2008 and 2009, G20 nations agreed to spending measures worth $4 trillion to revive their economies, rejected trade barriers, and implemented far-reaching reforms of the financial system.
Economic and financial coordination remains the centerpiece of each summit’s agenda, but issues such as the future of work, climate change, and global health are recurring focuses as well. But at recent summits, countries have struggled to reach a unified consensus—the hallmark of previous iterations—as the interests of high- and low-income economies continue to diverge.
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