By AFP -Agence France Presse
The G20: tackling economic issues in a turbulent world
In the pantheon of global meetings, the G20 is the main forum for economic and financial cooperation - areas increasingly tested by the current geopolitical changes.
The Group of Twenty brings together the world's largest economies. It is made up of 19 nations, including the United States and China, and two regional organizations: the European Union and the African Union.
Here's a primer on the G20 and what it does:
Despite its name, the G20 today has 21 members.
The 19 countries that make it up are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Great Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the United States.
Together, they account for 85% of global GDP and three-quarters of global trade.
The European Union has also been a member for a long time, and the African Union was admitted last year.
The G20 was conceived in 1999 in response to the Asian financial crisis of two years earlier, which shook the global system. It was originally conceived as a coordination space for finance ministers and central bank chiefs.
It was elevated to leader level in 2008, after another global financial crisis, so that heads of state and government could meet annually to address international economic issues.
The meeting also includes parallel forums in which the representatives discuss topics such as health, culture, social justice, agriculture, tourism, and the fight against corruption.
Brazil holds the rotating presidency of the G20 this year and has made the fight against hunger, poverty, and inequality its priorities, along with sustainable development and the reform of global governance.
To support this, the country is holding a G20 social forum days before the main event on November 18-19, with the aim of increasing the voice of civil society in government discussions.
The G20 summit will be held in Rio de Janeiro and will be attended by US President Joe Biden, along with China's President Xi Jinping and other leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last month that he would not be traveling to Brazil.
He said that his presence would “ruin” the summit but insisted that the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant against him for Russia's actions in Ukraine was not a factor in his decision. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is going in his place.
The last few G20s have shown discord among the participating countries over Russia's war in Ukraine.
The last two summits, in Bali in 2022 and in New Delhi in 2023, had to abandon the traditional “family photo” of the leaders together in a symbol of unity due to the different positions towards Moscow and how to characterize the war.
Xi also criticized Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the Bali summit after details of their talks were leaked to the media.
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