Who attends the G20 summits? What is discussed at these meetings? Why do the G8/G20 matter to Micah Challenge?

The G20 (Group of 20) has 19 member nations, plus officials from global economic institutions including the IMF and the World Bank, plus the EU. Although the G20 currently represents 90% of the world’s GDP, 90% of the countries are not included in its membership. The G20 is replacing the G8 as the main economic council of nations.

The G20 essentially acts as the main economic council of the world’s wealthy nations.  The host of the groups rotates annually among the member countries, with the country holding presidency having a considerable degree of control and power over the agenda of these summits.  The G20 has in the past primarily served as a forum for cooperation and consultation on matters relating to the international financial system, playing a particularly prominent role in reacting to the world financial crisis.

Now, with the demise of the G8, the group will deal more with  macroeconomic issues, international trade, and relations with developing countries.

Nations in the G20 wield an enormous amount of power and influence over issues related to poverty. Development has regularly featured as a key issue on the G8 summit agenda in recent years.  The 31st G8 summit in 2005, which was held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, is widely considered to be one of the most significant international meetings regarding development.  $50 billion was pledged in aid to developing countries by 2010 on top of a substantial agreement to forgive the debt of Highly Indebted Poor Countries.   Since 2005 the G8 has had an extremely mixed record regarding keeping the promises made at Gleneagles.  The grassroots campaign One has published an annual Data Report tracking the progress of the G8 and their aid commitments. The US, Britain and Canada have all mostly delivered on their Gleneagles commitments, with Germany, France, and by far the worst culprit, Italy giving less than they have promised.

The G20 summits have the potential to make significant decisions to help get the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) back on track.  Several world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, have already stressed the need for world’s wealthy nations to recommit to making serious and sustainable progress toward the MDGs.

The meeting in 2011 in France also promises to deal with issues affecting the poor.

Click on the links to find out about 2011 prayer ideas and actions

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• 27/09/2011 14:14 - Letter template to French ambassador
• 19/09/2011 14:55 - Letter template to French ambassador
• 19/09/2011 14:54 - Letter template to French ambassador
• 19/09/2011 14:51 - Letter template to French ambassador
• 09/09/2011 09:12 - IMPI upcoming events

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