Many have heard of this international organization . When did the Big Twenty come about? What are the goals and principles of this forum? Which countries are in the G20? About all this - in our article.
Organization History
Before answering the question which countries are members of the G20, a brief history of this organization should be given. And also about when it was established.
The G20, G20, or simply the G20 is a global international forum uniting the world's leading economies. In the countries that are members of this organization, about 85% of all world trade is concentrated.
The year of creation of the G20 is 1999. The corresponding decision to create such a forum was made at a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Washington. The first conference of the organization took place in December of the same year in Berlin.
The impetus for the establishment of the G20 was the so-called East Asian Economic Crisis of 1998, the consequences of which affected almost the entire planet. "Powerful of this world" realized the need for such a global organization that could predict and prevent such crises in the global economy.
It is curious that initially an organization called G33 emerged, which united, respectively, 33 states. However, less than a year has passed since it was transformed into the G20. What countries are included in its composition? Read about it in the next section.
G20 countries: list of members
Interestingly, the G20 candidates were selected by the ministers of only two states - the United States and Canada. Which countries are in the G20 today?
The international forum includes 19 leading world economies, as well as the European Union as a collective organization. In addition, representatives of other international organizations — the IMF, the World Bank, and the European Central Bank — are often present at G20 meetings and summits.
Listed below are all G20 countries (list as of 2015):
- Australia.
- Argentina.
- Brazil.
- Canada.
- Mexico.
- USA.
- Republic of South Africa.
- Japan.
- South Korea.
- Russia.
- India.
- Indonesia.
- China.
- Saudi Arabia.
- Turkey.
- United Kingdom.
- Italy.
- Germany.
- France.
All the participating countries of this international forum are shown in yellow on the map below (more saturated colors indicate the states that are members of the G7).
G20: goals and features of work
The organization was created with a single main goal: to achieve stable and sustainable growth of the world economy for the benefit of all, without exception, countries on the planet.
The main form of activity is meetings and summits, which G20 participating countries attend annually. Each year, one state is selected for the role of head of organization. It also holds the next summit. The G20 Interim Secretariat is also located in this country.
Do not assume that the activities of the G20 are limited only to summits that take place once a year. They only outline a plan of action and activities, work on which continues in various working groups and departments of ministries. Among the key tasks of the organization are the search for ways to stabilize the economy, develop an international financial architecture, develop social infrastructure, ensure food security, solve corruption problems, and even finance and promote various environmental and climate programs.
At the same time, the structure of the G20 quite often lends itself to harsh criticism. Firstly, for the fact that it does not include 173 states of the planet. Secondly, for lack of transparency in the work of the entire organization.
Annual G20 Summits
The organization of the "Big Twenty" began to hold annual summits with the participation of presidents and prime ministers of states since 2008. The first of them took place in Washington and was called anti-crisis. The main issue for discussion on the agenda of the summit was the global financial crisis of 2007-2008.
In 2009 and 2010, the G-20 Summit was held twice. Experts note that the Seoul summit, which took place in November 2010, was of great importance. At it, in particular, the topic of the monetary policy of the United States and China was considered. The Australian summit in Brisbane 2014 also caused a huge resonance in world society. It brought up three pressing issues: the fight against corruption, the Ukrainian crisis and the problem of global security in general.
Russia and G-20
In 2014, Russia was expelled from the structure, or rather, its membership in the G8 group was suspended. Thus, the G8 has returned to the G7 format again. Soon after that, information appeared that Russia was going to be deprived of the right to participate in the G20 forum.
The most critical in relation to the Russian Federation today is Australia. The government of the island state accuses Russia of involvement in the crash of the Boeing MN-17 in the sky over the Donbass. However, the Russian delegation was invited to the Australian summit in Brisbane. The G20 made such a decision in the hope that it would help "ease the general geopolitical tension" in the world.
Finally...
Now you know which countries are in the G20. An international organization was formed in 1999. Initially, she organized and held meetings and consultations of finance ministers of different states. Later, heads of countries were involved in the G20, and the organization began to address more global issues.
The current composition of the G20 countries includes 19 independent states from different continents, as well as one collective organization - the European Union (EU).