The Group of Twenty (G20) is the international forum that brings together the world's major economies. It was established in 1999 with the aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level discussions on policy issues relating to the promotion of international financial stability, and since 2008 it envisages a final summit, with the participation of Heads of State and Government. The group represents more than 80% of the world's GDP, 75% of global trade and 60% of the planet's population.
The group has 19 member countries: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, South Korea, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. In addition, Spain is a permanent G20 invitee.
Each year, the Presidency invites a number of other countries, which participate fully in the work of the G20, as guests. Several international and regional organisations also participate, giving the forum even greater representation.
In addition to the Summit, ministerial meetings, meetings of the Sherpas (responsible for conducting negotiations and facilitating consensus among the Leaders), working group meetings and special events take place during the year of the Presidency.
Its main characteristics are the intergovernmental nature of the preparatory process, its informality, and its ability to discuss and quickly find commonly agreed solutions to major global issues. As it is not an international organisation, it lacks an administrative structure with a permanent secretariat. The Presidency rotates every year and is responsible for proposing the topics that are included on the Summit agenda.
As of 1 December 2020, Italy has been holding the Presidency of the G20. In 2021, the international community will be called upon to show their courage and ambition to overcome today's major challenges: from the pandemic to climate change, from supporting innovation to fighting poverty and inequality.
The Presidency programme is structured around the trinomial People, Planet, Prosperity. We must take care of the planet and people, ensuring a strong economic recovery that is both inclusive and sustainable. The Presidency will culminate in the G20 Leaders' Summit, to be held in Rome on October 30 and 31.
The Italian Presidency and the European Commission will also jointly host the G20 Global Health Summit, which will take place in Rome on May 21, to address the main challenges related to the current health emergency.
Health is essential for economic growth and development. Health crises, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic, demonstrate how they can cause economic instability in affected countries or entire regions of the world. Health threats are therefore directly connected to the G20's core issue of ensuring economic stability and prosperity. A common understanding of this connection and a better international approach to mitigating the risks involved has been recognised on several occasions by the G20, starting with the G20 Leaders' Communiqué in Antalya - Turkey, 2015:
We agree that attention should be paid to global health risks, such as antimicrobial resistance, infectious disease threats and weak health systems. These can have a significant impact on growth and stability. Building on the Brisbane Declaration, we stress the importance of a coordinated international response and reiterate our determination to address these issues to combat the negative impacts on the global economy.
In 2016 in Hangzhou, China, global health was reflected in the action plan for the 2030 Agenda.
During its 2017 G20 Presidency, Germany took up this challenge and proposed for the first time a meeting of G20 countries' health ministers to address some of the most urgent global health issues, an initiative also confirmed by the subsequent Presidencies in Argentina (2018), Japan (2019) and Saudi Arabia (2020).
The Italian G20 Presidency, convinced of the importance of health issues for global growth and for the wellbeing and prosperity of the entire international community, and in view of the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, will also propose for 2021 the meeting of Health Ministers, to be held in Rome on 5 and 6 September 2021, with the aim of raising the level of collaboration and jointly address health challenges on an international level.
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Data di ultimo aggiornamento 22 August 2024
