World leaders are meeting in Buenos Aires for the latest G20 Summit – the first time the forum has met in South America.

Here, the Press Association answers some questions about the forum.

What is the G20?

The Group of Twenty is a forum which sees 19 leading countries and the European Union meet annually to discuss policies to address the world’s “most pressing challenges”.

The member countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The 19 members and the EU account for around two in three of the global population and nearly 80% of world trade.

Who else is invited?

Previous summits have seen participants who are not permanent members of the G20 invited, and Spain is a permanent invited guest and will be represented in Argentina.

The summit’s hosts have also invited Chile and the Netherlands, while several partner organisations such as the African Union, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Bank, World Health Organisation and the World Trade Organisation are typically present.

What is the history of the G20?

The idea for the G20 started within the G7 meeting of finance ministers in 1999 who felt they needed a more broad group to address the world’s financial challenges.

After the financial crisis of 2008, the G20 worked on stabilising the world’s economy and also looks at markets, trade and development.

What is the difference between the G7 and G20?

The G7 is a group of the largest advanced economies in the world and comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Russia was previously a member of the then G8 but was ejected over the annexation of Crimea.

The G7 has a stronger focus on politics in industrialised countries, including discussions on health, energy, environment and terrorism, while the G20 looks at economic issues facing developed and emerging economies.

What will be the focus of the G20 summit in Argentina?

President Mauricio Macri said the slogan of the summit is a “fair and sustainable future” with a focus on “putting people first” and “building consensus”.

Discussions at the event take place behind closed doors, but the aim is to create a final document which all members agree on to promote “fair and sustainable development”.

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