Global General

G20 Toronto summit begins plenary session

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-27 23:54

China's President Hu Jintao listens to the translator during the opening plenary session of the G20 Summit in Toronto June 27, 2010. [Agencies]

TORONTO, Canada - The Fourth Summit of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies began a plenary session at the Metro Toronto Convention Center here on Sunday morning.

"Now as before we must work and act together," said Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, chair of the summit, in his brief opening remarks.

Special coverage: Hu Visits Canada, Attends G20 Summit Related readings:  President Hu attends G20 Toronto summit  Thousand protest against G20 summit in Toronto  G20 leaders meet in Toronto to seek sustained recovery  China outlines its agenda for G20 summit

Harper noted that with a global recovery that is still fragile, it is incumbent upon the G20 leaders to act with the "same unity," "same sense of urgency" and "same commitment" as they did in the depth of the crisis.

As the world's premier forum for international economic cooperation, the G20 needs to "begin to develop a framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth that we promised the world in Pittsburgh," the United States at the previous summit, said Harper.

He also listed fiscal deficits and debt levels in advanced countries, the premature end to stimulus, regulatory reforms of the financial sector, and the siren sound of protectionism as some of the major issues for the leaders to discuss during the summit.

Leaders of the world's biggest economies, including Chinese President Hu Jintao, US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, as well as heads of a number of international organizations and leaders of a few non-G20 countries, were present at the full session, which is expected to discuss and adopt a final document for the summit.

The summit, which is expected to build on the previous three held respectively in Washington, London and Pittsburgh since the outbreak of the global financial and economic crisis in 2008, is being hosted by Toronto, Canada's largest city and what Harper called the "home of the most solid financial sector in the world."

The leaders of the Group of 20 pose for a family photo at the G20 Summit in Toronto June 27, 2010. [Agencies]