Since the onset of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the Group of Twenty (G20), whose membership consists of systemically important advanced and emerging economies, has emerged as the principal forum for inter-governmental economic cooperation.

Together, the G20 economies account for 85% of the global economy, 80% of world trade, and two-thirds of the global population. Those simple facts underline the significant potential of the G20 as a global platform to enable international economic co-operation and policy making. Permanent members of the G20 are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States of America plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by Head of the European Central Bank.

The G20 was formally established on 26 September 1999 at the Finance Ministers' meeting of seven major advanced economies in the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis. Its inaugural meeting took place on December 15-16, 1999 in Berlin bringing together G20 finance ministers and central bank governors. In the wake of the 2008-2009 crisis, the G20 for the first time convened at the leaders’ level in Washington, D.C. on November 14-15, 2008 to respond to the crisis collectively to restore global growth, strengthen the global financial system and reform international financial institutions.

The G20 Forum played a key role in supporting the first stages of economic recovery and continues to promote measures to strengthen the global economy, reform international financial institutions and improve financial regulation.

Turkey’s G20 presidency in 2015

Turkey assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, 2014.

The implementation of policies and performance of individual member towards the realization of the 2 percent global growth target set by the “Brisbane Action Plan” will be a critical component of the G20’s success in 2015. In this connection, the Turkish government’s commitments to focus on implementation and on “ensuring inclusive and robust growth through collective action” are positive steps

The Turkish G20 Presidency will also emphasize small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), as a cross-cutting subject, and aims to make G 20 more relevant to non- G 20 member countries including low-income developing countries (LIDCs).

Turkey will host the annual G20 Leaders' Summit on November 15-16, 2015.

What are the G20 outreach groups?

The G20 has sought to incorporate policy contributions from an ever-broader cross-section of society. Consultation with non-state actors has evolved and are now organized under five groups:

• Young people - Y20
• Business – B20
• Labor – L20
• Think tanks and academia – T20
• Civil society – C20

Each year, the G20 chair appoints a lead coordinator for each of the five groups. The appointed coordinator then pulls together contributions from that segment of society in both G20 and non-G20 countries with an objective to identify policy priorities for the G20. Although the aims and objectives of outreach groups may differ, all together they contribute to the greater legitimacy and transparency of the G20 process.