G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies. Members are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States, Russia, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, China and Indonesia. It was founded with the aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
It seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization. The G20 heads of government or heads of state have annually met at summits, and the group also hosts separate meetings of finance ministers and central bank governors. G8 nation leaders said that G20 would replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.
Though the G20’s primary focus is global economic governance, the themes of its summits vary from year to year. The G20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff. In addition to these 20 members, the chief executive officers of several other international forums and institutions participate in meetings of the G20.