A G-20 caucus for East Asia

• Stephen Grenville, Mark Thirlwell
• Lowy Institute for International Policy

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30 October 2009In September 2009, the Pittsburgh Summit designated the G-20 as the world’s premier forum for international cooperation. The G-20 gives East Asia a significant presence at the top table of the world economy: six regional economies, including Australia, are members. This creates important new opportunities for the region. But making use of these opportunities requires significant increases in policy-making resources and in many Asian economies such resources are in short supply relative to the pressing problems they currently face. In a new Policy Brief, Stephen Grenville and Mark Thirlwell suggest that a caucus of the six East Asian members of the G-20 would provide an opportunity to pool resources for research and the preparation of policy papers on matters of common interest. This could help the region promote an agenda at the G-20 which would not only support regional interests, but would also assist in establishing the G-20’s relevance and keeping leaders engaged.