Russia Assumes G20 Presidency

MOSCOW, December 1 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Federation on Saturday takes over the presidency of the Group of Twenty major economies from Mexico.

The Group of Twenty (G20) is a forum of the world’s largest economies consisting of 19 countries and the European Union. It was established as an instrument of global crisis management following the 2008 economic crisis.

G20 members, namely Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Canada, China, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Turkey, France, South Africa, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the EU, account for 90 percent of the global GDP and 80 percent of world trade.

The northwestern Russian city of St. Petersburg will host a G20 summit in September 2013.