Practical Issues for the G20

A secretariat should be based in a G20 country that is outside the G8—we recommend Turkey or India. This secretariat should be fully funded and empowered to prepare for the G-20 meetings, help set the agenda, and enforce agreed action points. This will include meetings of relevant national ministers, civil society groups, and private sector organizations.

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Idea of the Day

Idea of the Day

A secretariat should be based in a G20 country that is outside the G8—we recommend Turkey or India. This secretariat should be fully funded and empowered to prepare for the G20 meetings, help set the agenda, and enforce agreed action points. This will include meetings of relevant national ministers, civil society groups, and private sector organizations.

The G20 meetings should be held twice a year. The spring meeting should be in the same city as the secretariat; the fall meeting should be in New York alongside the U.N. General Assembly. Countries should take it in turn to chair meetings, which will be closed to the press. Ministers and officials should sit behind the leaders, not at the table.

The secretariat should publish minutes including a summary of the discussion and an action plan, instead of issuing a communiqué. The secretariat should then ensure that multilateral organizations carry out the tasks assigned to them and report back on progress in time for the next meeting.

For more on this topic, please see:

The Case for Leadership: Strengthening the Group of 20 to Tackle Key Global Crises by Will Straw, Matt Browne, Sabina Dewan, and Nina Hachigian

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