G 20 - INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
News: G-20:
India's platform for global leadership
What's in the news?
● The
G-20 was born out of the Asian financial crisis 25 years ago. It was upgraded
to convene heads of government after a global financial and economic crisis a
decade later.
● Today,
however, the organization that styles itself as the 'premier forum of international economic cooperation' appears to be
descending into deadlock with the Foreign Ministers of Japan (currently
chairing the G7) and South Korea declining to attend the Delhi meet and Russia,
China and the EU publicly sticking to their differing positions on the war in
Ukraine.
G-20:
● The
G20 was formed in 1999 in the
backdrop of the financial crisis of the late 1990s that hit East Asia and
Southeast Asia in particular.
● Its
aim was to secure global financial
stability by involving middle-income countries.
● Together,
the G20 countries include 60 percent of the world’s population, 80 percent of
global GDP, and 75 percent of global trade.
Members:
● Argentina,
Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy,
Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey,
the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.
● Spain
is invited as a permanent guest.
Other backdrops of G-20:
● The
presidency of the G20 rotates every year
among members.
● The
country holding the presidency, together with the previous and next
presidency-holder, forms the ‘Troika’ to ensure continuity of the G20 agenda.
● Indonesia, India and
Brazil are the Troika countries right now.
● The
first G20 Summit took place in 2008 in Washington DC, US. In addition to
Summits, the Sherpa meetings (that
help in negotiations and building consensus), and other events are also
organized throughout the year.
● Each
year, the presidency invites guest countries.
● The
G20 has no permanent secretariat.
● The
agenda and work are coordinated by representatives of the G20 countries, known
as ‘Sherpas’, who work together with the finance ministers and governors of the
central banks.
● India
recently appointed ex-NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant as the G20 Sherpa after
Piyush Goyal.