The London Summit 2009

03 April 2009

Major G20 meeting to address world economic crisis

The leaders of the world's 20 richest nations - the G20 - gathered yesterday in London to address the global economic crisis.

Focusing on stability, growth and jobs, the London Summit was a follow-up to last November's meeting of the G20 in Washington, DC., where a series of commitments was set out for restoring world economic security.

In London yesterday, after months of preparation and hard work, a global action plan for recovery and reform was agreed. The plan includes:

• a commitment to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and delivering Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) pledges (including Gleneagles commitments, especially to Sub-Saharan Africa)
• making $50 billion available to low income countries to support social protection, boost trade and safeguard development - including through using the proceeds of International Monetary Fund gold sales, Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation and support for trade finance
• at least $100 billion in additional lending from the World Bank and other Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)
• recognition that the current crisis has a disproportionate impact on the vulnerable in the poorest countries and that the G20 has a collective responsibility to mitigate the social impact of the crisis to minimise long-lasting damage to global potential (resources will be made available for social protection, including through the Rapid Social Response Fund)
• calling on the UN to establish an effective mechanism to monitor the impact of the crisis on the poorest and most vulnerable
• an accelerated timetable for reforms of the World Bank around voice and governance.