International Bodies and Associations

Associations of different countries

G8

The Group of Eight popularly known as G8 is a forum created by France in 1975, for
governments of eight nations of the northern hemisphere: Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was initially a group of six nations
when it was established and was hence known as G6.

Each year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 rotates through the member states in the following
order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The
holder of the presidency sets the agenda, hosts the summit for that year, and determines which
ministerial meetings will take place.

The concept of a forum for the world's major industrialized democracies emerged following the
1973 oil crisis and subsequent global recession.

France and the United Kingdom have expressed a desire to expand the group to include five
developing countries, referred to as the Outreach Five (O5) or the Plus Five: Brazil, China, India,
Mexico, and South Africa. These countries have participated as guests in previous meetings,
which are sometimes called G8+5.

The 35th G8 summit was held in July 2009 and was hosted by Italy. The next two summits are
supposed to hosted by Canada and then France.

G20

The G-20 which is more formally known as the Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central
Bank Governors is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 economies:
19 of the world's largest national economies and plus the European Union (EU). The G-20
economies comprise 85% of global gross national product, 80% of world trade and two-thirds of
the world population.

The G-20 is a forum for cooperation and consultation on matters pertaining to the international
financial system. It studies, reviews and promotes discussion among key industrial and emerging
market countries of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.

In 2009, there are 20 members which include the finance ministers and central bank governors of
19 countries

Argentina: President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner

Australia: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd

Brazil: President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Canada: Prime Minister Stephen Harper

 China: President Hu Jintao

France: President Nicolas Sarkozy

Germany: Chancellor Angela Merkel

India: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Indonesia: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Italy: Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi

Japan: Prime Minister Taro Aso

Mexico: President Felipe Calderón

Russia: President Dmitry Medvedev

Saudi Arabia: King Abdullah

South Africa: President Jacob Zuma

South Korea: President Lee Myung-bak

Turkey: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

United Kingdom: Prime Minister Gordon Brown

United States: President Barack Obama

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The 20 member is the European Union which is represented by the rotating Council presidency
and the European Central Bank. Different economies of the world met to coordinate macro-
economic actions to revive the global economy, stimulate growth and employment in wake the
economic downturn and recession. The countries also held meetings to reform international
financial institutions like International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Financial Stability Forum (FSF)
and the World Bank to deal with the crisis better.

SAARC

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic and political
organization of eight countries in Southern Asia. It was established on December 8, 1985 by
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. In April 2007, at the
Association's 14th summit, Afghanistan became its eighth member.

The 14th summit was held in New Delhi, India in April 2007 and then it was hosted by Colombo,
Sri Lanka the consequent year. The next SAARC summit will be held by Bhutan in 2010. South
Asian countries formed this special body to promote general welfare and greater association
among the countries in terms of better economic, cultural and social ties.

BRIC

BRIC is the acronym for four fast-growing developing economies of Brazil, Russia, India and
China. The term was first coined and prominently used by Goldman Sachs in 2001. Goldman
Sachs argued that since they are developing rapidly, by 2050 the combined economies of the
BRICs could eclipse the combined economies of the current richest countries of the world. The
four countries, combined, currently account for more than a quarter of the world's land area and
more than 40% of the world's population.

On June 16, 2009, the leaders of the BRIC countries held their first official summit in
Yekaterinburg in Russia and issued a declaration calling for the establishment of a multipolar
world order.

The core focus of the summit was related to improving the current global economic situation and
discussing how the four countries can better work together in the future, as well as a more
general push to reform financial institutions. There was also discussion surrounding how
developing nations could be better involved in global affairs in the future.

ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations commonly referred as ASEAN is a geo-political and
economic organization of 10 countries located in Southeast Asia. This association was formed on
8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Over the years,
the membership has been expanded to include Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos and
Vietnam. Its aims at accelerating economic growth, social progress, cultural development among
its members, the protection of the peace and stability of the region, and to provide opportunities
for member countries to discuss differences peacefully.
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The 14 summit was held in Thailand during March-April 2009.