G20 - Group of Twenty
Since the financial crisis in Asia in the 1990s, the group of the twenty major industrialised and newly industrialising countries (G20) has met at the level of ministers of finance and presidents or chairmen of the central banks. In response to the global economic and financial crisis, the heads of state and government also started meeting in the G20 context in November 2008 in Washington. In addition to the G7 countries, member states include China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, South Korea, Indonesia, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia and the EU. The G20 Summit in Pittsburgh in 2009 took the decision to meet twice in 2010 (in Canada and in Korea) and to have an annual G20 Summit from 2011 onwards. There was an initial discussion as to whether the G8 and G20 meetings should be merged, however both platforms have since been established as high level meetings. In addition to financial issues, the G20 agenda now also includes more and more discussions on other global challenges such as environmental and development policies.