What is the G20?

The G20 summit is under way in Brazil.   CGTN presenter Jamie Owen explains the group’s inception and why it was formed.   #g20 #brazil

Transcript

00:00The G20 is comprised of 19 countries and Spain as a permanent guest,

00:04along with the European Union, and since last year, the African Union.

00:09The group meets annually to discuss global economic and political issues like climate change and finance.

00:15Under Brazil's presidency, it'll include talks on how to reform global institutions

00:20like the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank.

00:25It was formed in 1999, in the wake of the Asia financial crisis,

00:29to unite finance ministers and central bankers from 20 of the world's largest economies.

00:36Ten years later, at the height of the global financial crisis,

00:39the meeting of G20 leaders was widely credited with stopping the world's financial system

00:45from going into freefall.

00:46Leaders there agreed a $4 trillion spending package to try to revive their economies.