The G20, also known as the Group of 20 is a bloc of developing nations established on 20 August 2003. The G-20 was proposed by former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin as a forum for cooperation and consultation on matters pertaining to the international financial system. The group was formally inaugurated in September 1999, and held its first meeting in December 1999.

The G20 or Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies. The members, include 19 individual countries — Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States—and the European Union (EU), with Spain participating as a “permanent guest”, and further short-term guests named annually by the group’s rotating chairperson. The EU is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank.

Many of the G-20 countries are considered “Rising Powers.”

With the G-20 growing in stature after the 2008 Washington summit, its leaders announced on 25 September 2009, that the group would replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.

Since the November 2011 Cannes summit, all G-20 summits have been held annually. Russia currently holds the chair of the G-20, and hosted the eighth G-20 summit in September 2013. The next summit is in Australia in Brisbane in 2014, chaired by Tony Abbott, Prime Minister of Australia, and Turkey hosting it in 2015.

The theme of the G-20 meeting was “Building and Sustaining Prosperity”. The issues discussed included domestic reforms to achieve “sustained growth”, global energy and resource commodity markets, ‘reform’ of the World Bank and IMF, and the impact of demographic changes due to an aging population.

The G-20 Summit was created as a response both to the financial crisis of 2007–2010 and to a growing recognition that key emerging countries were not adequately included in the core of global economic discussion and governance. The G-20 Summits of heads of state or government were held in addition to the G-20 Meetings of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, who continued to meet to prepare the leaders’ summit and implement their decisions.

The G20 does not have a permanent secretariat. Instead, the G20 President is responsible for bringing together the G20 agenda in consultation with other members and in response to developments in the global economy. To ensure continuity, the Presidency is supported in this by the “troika”, made up of the current, immediate past and future host countries.

The World Bank is a United Nations international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programs. The World Bank is a component of the World Bank Group, and a member of the United Nations Development Group.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), commonly referred to as the World Bank, is an international financial institution whose purposes include assisting the development of its member nation’s territories, promoting and supplementing private foreign investment and promoting long-range balance growth in international trade.

The World Bank was created in 1944 at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, along with three other institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The World Bank and the IMF are both based in Washington, D.C., and work closely with each other.

The organization of the bank consists of the Board of Governors, the Board of Executive Directors and the Advisory Committee, the Loan Committee and the president and other staff members. All the powers of the bank are vested in the Board of Governors which the supreme policy is making body of the bank.

The President of the Bank is the president of the entire World Bank Group. The president, currently Jim Yong Kim, is responsible for chairing the meetings of the Boards of Directors and for overall management of the Bank.

The World Bank’s official goal is the reduction of poverty. According to its Articles of Agreement, all its decisions must be guided by a commitment to the promotion of foreign investment and international trade and to the facilitation of capital investment.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has 188 member countries, while the International Development Association (IDA) has 172 members. Each member state of IBRD should be also a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and only members of IBRD are allowed to join other institutions within the Bank (such as IDA).

The World Bank or the World Bank Group is also a sitting observer in the United Nations Development Group.

For the goals to be realized, six criteria must be met: stronger and more inclusive growth in fragile states, more effort in health and education, integration of the development and environment agendas, more and better aid, movement on trade negotiations, and stronger and more focused support from multilateral institutions like the World Bank.

• Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
• Achieve Universal Primary Education
• Promote Gender Equality
• Reduce Child Mortality
• Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and Other Diseases
• Ensure Environmental Sustainability