Summit of G20

This year’s main G20 forum is being held from 7 to 8 July in Hamburg, Germany. The theme of the German presidency of the G20 is 'Shaping an interconnected world'. The leaders will discuss the main topics of economic, financial, climate, trade, employment and development policy.

Migration and refugee flows and counter-terrorism are other key issues of global significance that will appear on the summit agenda. As well as permanent members of the committee, the leaders of Guinea, the Netherlands, Norway, the Philippines, Senegal, Singapore, Spain and Vietnam will also be in attendance. This is the 12th G20 summit and the first time it has been hosted by Germany.

According to the G-20’s website (www.g20.org), the group consists of 19 countries and the European Union, which meet annually to discuss international financial and economic issues. Each year, the countries rotate which one chairs the meeting.

This year Germany holds the G-20 presidency. The 19 member nations are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Collectively, these countries account for 80 percent of the world economic output, three-fourths of world trade and two-thirds of the global population.

The group accounts for 85 per cent of world GDP and two-thirds of its population. The G20 was foreshadowed at the Cologne Summit of the G7 in June 1999, and formally established at the G7 Finance Ministers' meeting on 26 September 1999 with an inaugural meeting on 15–16 December 1999 in Berlin. of the important business takes place on the sidelines and in informal meetings.

In the dramatic early days of the financial crisis in 2008, it quickly became apparent that the necessary crisis coordination would only be possible at the highest political level. As a result, the meetings of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors were raised to the level of heads of state and government.

Since then, G20 members have been meeting annually to discuss a wide range of issues related to economic and financial cooperation. They endeavour in particular to strengthen the global financial system and to improve the supervision and regulation of financial market participants, including what is known as the shadow banking system.