• The G20, which stands for “Group of Twenty,” is a meeting of 19 countries and the European Union.
• It focuses on major economic problems on a global scale, such as international financial stability, reducing the effects of climate change, and promoting sustainable development.
• The G20 is made up of both developed and developing economies. Together, they account for more than two-thirds of the world’s people, 85% of global GDP, 80% of global investment, and more than 75% of global trade.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s most important economies meet at this international gathering.
• It’s important to remember that the G20 is not a permanent organisation. It doesn’t have a permanent secretariat or headquarters, and the people in charge change every year.
• The “G20 Troika” is a way to describe the current, previous, and future G20 presidencies, in which three member countries work closely together to carry out the agenda.
• As of 2022, Indonesia, Italy, and India are all part of the G20 troika.
• The G20 was first talked about at the G7 summit in Cologne in June 1999. It was officially set up at the G7 Finance Ministers meeting on September 26, 1999, and its first meeting was held in Berlin on December 15–16, 1999.
• When the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997–1998 ended, it was clear that a discussion of the international financial system needed to include big emerging market countries.
• Because of this, the G7 Finance Ministers agree to set up the G20 meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in 1999.
The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors met to talk about major economic and monetary policy issues in the world’s largest economies. Their goal was to work together to achieve stable and long-term growth in the world economy, which would benefit all countries.
As a meeting place for the leaders of important developed and emerging market countries, they moved up to the head of state level.
In September 2009, the G20 met its third summit in Pittsburgh. At this meeting, the world’s leaders called the G20 the “premier forum for international economic cooperation.” From then on, the summits were held every six months until 2010, and then every year after that.
G20 Members:
• The G20 is made up of the European Union and nineteen other countries. These countries are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Japan, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• The economic crash of 2008 threw Spain’s economy into chaos and put the country in a financial crisis that lasted for six years. Since then, Spain has always been invited as a non-member to leader meetings.
Works of G20
• The G20’s work is done in two ways:
The finance track includes all talks between G20 finance ministers, central bank presidents, and their deputies. They get together several times a year to talk about money issues and financial rules.
The Sherpa track works on broader topics like political engagement, fighting corruption, development, and energy, among others.
• Each country in the G20 is served by a Sherpa. This person works on behalf of the country’s leader to plan, guide, carry out, and so on. In 2018, India was represented at the G20 by an Indian Sherpa named Shaktikanta Das.
Structure and Functioning of G20
• The G20 Presidency changes hands every year according to a plan that makes sure each area gets an equal amount of power over time.
• To choose the president, the 19 countries are split into five groups with no more than four countries in each. Each group takes turns being in charge of the country.
• The G20 chooses a boss from a different group every year.
• India, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey are all in Group 2. The G20 does not have a set secretariat or headquarters. Instead, the G20 president is in charge of putting together the G20 agenda with the help of other members and responding to economic events around the world.
• TROIKA: Every year, when a new country takes over as president (in this case, Argentina in 2018), it works with the country that held the presidency the year before (in this case, Germany) and the country that will hold the presidency the year after (in this case, Japan in 2019) to form TROIKA. This makes sure that the group’s goal stays on track and makes sense.
G20 Summit
• The countries that make up and contribute to more than 80% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) met at the Premier Forum for International Economic Cooperation, which was approved by world leaders at the Pittsburgh Summit in September 2009 to support strong economic growth around the world.
• In what was then called the “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy,” these countries met to talk about what is now called the “G20 Summit.”
• As globalisation moved forward and more problems became linked, the G20 meetings started to focus not just on macroeconomics and trade, but also on a wide range of global problems that have a big effect on the world economy.
• Some of the things that were talked about were global growth, climate change, energy, health, fighting terrorism, migration, and refugees.
• Through its work on these global issues, the G20 has tried to make the world a better place for everyone and one that can last.
G20 Areas of Cooperation
• In 2010, world leaders said that Toronto would be the best place for business cooperation around the world.
• The actions of G20 members are supported by a number of international groups that give policy advice. The following are some of the groups:
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) is a group that keeps an eye on how things are going with money. After the global financial crisis began, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) was set up by the leaders of the G20.
(ILO) stands for the International Labour Organisation.
The IMF stands for the International Monetary Fund.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) United Nations (UN) World Bank
The WTO is the World Trade Organisation.
• The G20 meets regularly with groups that are not part of the government.
• Throughout the year, important events will be put on by groups from business (B20), civil society (C20), labour (L20), think tanks (T20), and youth (Y20). The results of these events will be used to help G20 leaders make decisions.
Issues Addressed by G20:
• The G20 focuses on a wide range of global issues. While issues related to the global economy are the most important, other topics have become more important in recent years, such as: Financial market Tax and fiscal policy Trade Agriculture Employment Energy Fight against corruption Women’s advancement in the workplace Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 Climate Change Global Health Anti-terrorism Inclusive e-
India’s Goals at the G20 Summits
• Looking into tax evasion as a way to stop crime.
• Cutting off money for terror.
• Cutting the cost of sending money home.
• Market access for key drugs.
• Changes to the World Trade Organisation to improve how it works.
• The “full implementation” of the Paris Agreement.
Achievements
• Flexible: Since there are only 20 members in the G20, it is able to make quick decisions and change to new situations.
• Open to everyone: Every year, invited countries, international organisations, and civil society organisations are added to the groups that take part. This gives a broader and deeper look at global issues and helps people agree on how to solve them.
• Coordinated action: The G-20 has also done a lot to improve the global financial regulatory system, including making it easier for people from different countries to work together.
• Helped boost loans from international development banks by US$235 billion at a time when money from the private sector was getting harder to get.
• One of the most important things the G20 did during the global financial crisis of 2008 was to quickly send out emergency money.
• It also tries to improve how financial institutions in each country are watched so that reforms can happen in foreign financial institutions.
• The G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project is one example of a change to the international tax system. Another is the implementation of tax transparency guidelines.
• The G20 helped get the Trade Facilitation Agreement passed. The World Trade Organisation says that if the agreement is fully put into place, it could add between 5.4% and 8.7% to the global GDP by 2030.
• Better Communication: The G20 is a group of the most industrialised and developing countries that meet to talk about how to make decisions that are based on agreement and reason.
Challenges
• There is no way to make sure people follow the rules. The G20’s toolkit includes everything from simple information exchanges and best practises to having clear, measurable goals and working together.
• Except for the incentive of peer review and public duty, none of this is possible without consensus, and none of it can be enforced.
• The decisions are not legally binding because they are based on discussions and agreements that lead to statements.
These claims are not backed up by the law. It’s just a group of 20 people who give advice or give suggestions.
Conclusion
The G20 won’t be able to solve every problem in the world. On the other hand, the G20 has been a key place for international partnership over the past ten years. Effective global governance, like the G20, is important because more and more countries want to have a say in and add to the global order.
