What you need to know about the G20 Summit

The Group of Twenty (G20) is an international annual meeting of leaders from the countries with the largest economies, where 19 countries and the European Union are represented.

The G20 was formed in 1999 to find a solution to the Asian financial crisis, and ever since then, the meeting does not have permanent headquarters or personnel, and its presidency rotates on a yearly basis.

The G20 includes 19 countries, in addition to the European Union. These are South Africa, the United States, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Turkey, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and the UK. However, other countries can be invited as guests.

The members represent more than 65 percent of the world’s population, almost 80 percent of the gross world product, and 75 percent of global trade. The world leaders get together to discuss the most important financial and economic issues of the day.

Nine years after the group’s establishment, it discussed the global 2008 economic crisis and played a key role in rebuilding confidence in the global financial system during its worst crisis in 80 years. Gathering in a Washington summit, the members agreed to spend four trillion dollars to carry out more financial reforms – considered the group’s biggest achievement.

The 2017 summit in Germany focused on financial corruption, while the 2018 one in Argentina tackled sustainable development. This year, the G20 Summit is taking place in Osaka, Japan and is addressing global health challenges and reforming the World Trade Organization. The next summit will be held in Saudi Arabia in November 2020.

Many global iconic moments have taken place during the summits, including bilateral meetings between heads of delegations and the first-ever meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.