But, over the last couple of decades, many considered the G7 lacked political legitimacy because it did not include the major emerging players in the world economy. Although the G7 was only an informal global steering committee, it needed to reflect the shift in global economic power that has taken place over recent decades. The G20 process has proved wrong the many who said it is too unwieldy to be effective. The G20 accounts for more than 85 per cent of the global GDP and is a group of systemically important advanced and emerging economies that is more representative and inclusive than the G7 or G8. That, and its origins and history, are what make it politically legitimate and operationally effective.

The global and financial economic crisis is not over yet and there will be painful adjustment on the way to sustainable long-term recovery and growth. But the remarkable fact is how important this international institutional innovation has been thus far in the international cooperation that has avoided a collapse in the world economy that was shaping up to be worse than that of the Great Depression in the 1930s.