The G20, 'Group of Twenty' includes all the G8 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK and the US – plus Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the European Union.
To begin with the G20 was a meeting of finance ministers and governors of central banks. The first meeting was called in 1999 to coordinate international efforts to deal with the East Asian crisis.
Following the global financial crisis of 2008 it was agreed that the G20 would also meet at head of state level and the first G20 Summit was held in London in 2009.
At the G20 Summit in Pittsburg, also in 2009, the leaders statement included agreement to a "Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth". The framework aims to build a stronger, more balanced global economy and reform the financial system to help improve the lives of the world's poorest people.
At the G20 Summit in Seoul in 2010 leaders adopted the "Seoul Development Consensus for Shared Growth" that sets out how economic growth in low income countries can contribute to longer-term global prosperity and how the G20 will support this development. There will be a focus on addressing systemic issues that impact on growth in the poorest countries, for example trade, infrastructure and global food matters.
As the Prime Minister David Cameron has said, it is right to include development in the G20 agenda to ensure that our actions to restore global growth address the needs of the poorest countries.
DFID is working very closely with other G20 countries, especially through the G20 Development Working Group, to ensure that the needs of the poorest are addressed.
France holds the Presidency of the G20 in 2011 and the next Summit will be in Cannes in November 2011.
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