Seoul: G20 leaders need 'concrete agreements'

SEOUL. November 5. KAZINFORM Group of 20 leaders know they must achieve "concrete agreements" including goals for reducing current account and trade gaps at next week's summit or risk having their leadership of the world economy called into question, South Korea's president said Wednesday; Kazinform refers to China Daily.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the group of leading rich and developing nations met last month in South Korea ahead of the summit scheduled for November 11-12. They vowed to avoid using their currencies as trade weapons and promised to come up with a way to measure the reduction of destabilizing trade gaps.

The G20 includes wealthy nations such as the US Japan and Germany and developing countries including China, Brazil and India. It has taken over leadership of the world economy since the 2008 financial crisis led developing nations to demand more of a say. The forum accounts for about 85 percent of the global economy.

"All of these leaders around the world understand the importance of coming up with concrete agreements and translating this into action," summit host and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak told reporters Wednesday.

How they perform "directly relates to the legitimacy and the effectiveness" of the group, he said.

"Because if the G20 is unable to deliver on its promises, then many people, especially the skeptics, will question the viability and the legitimacy of the G20."

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