3G bridging G20 and non-G20 countries Friday, 12 November 2010 05:15

Seoul: The Global Governance Group or 3G plays a very important role in bridging G20-member countries and non-G20 countries, Ho-young Anh, South Korean Deputy Minister for Trade told The Peninsula.

“G20 is only 20 members and so far as legitimacy is concerned United Nations is the most universal international institution we can think about, so I think this bridging role that is being played by the Triple G (3G) is a very important role,” he said on the sidelines of the ongoing G20 Seoul Summit, which began yesterday.

The 3G is a group of 27 small and medium non-G20 member countries which was established during the London Summit in April of last year.

Initiated by Singapore’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vanu Gopala Menon, the 3G was created in order to discuss issues of global governance of these 27 non-G20 member countries and channel their views into the G20 process. Qatar is a member of the 3G group of states.

In this year’s G20 Seoul Summit, Singapore, as the main initiator of the 3G, was invited along with Malawi, Ethiopia, Vietnam and Spain.

Giving evidence that although the 3G countries have yet to exert their influence on the world stage, the formation of the 3G is one step towards giving a voice to small and medium-sized countries who would not otherwise be heard on their own.

The Peninsula