Zuma warns France of G20 inefficiency

The G20 group of major economies, currently headed by France, risks becoming as ineffective as the United Nations General Assembly, according to South African President Jacob Zuma. This was his warning to his hosts during a state visit to France on Thursday.

REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen

"The G20 is the most promising institution to define a new governance and a multilateral leadership," Zuma said during a meeting attended by French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and her South African counterpart Rob Davies.

Zuma hailed France's aim of dealing with "very specific issues" and warned that "if we don't do so, it will be just like we're going to the (UN) General Assembly every year just to make speeches and go home and nothing happens".

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is hosting Zuma's state visit in hopes of broadening parternships in Africa and with the influential "Brics" group of fast-growing economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Sarkozy's stated goal for the French G20 presidency is nothing less than the reform of the world financial and trade system.

In order to win the backing of the Brics countries, he has put development aid and a global tax on financial transactions at the heart of the agenda for recovering from the recent global economic crisis.

"If the G20 remains in the debate only and not solving proglems it will be relegated to the same level of other institutions that are just there for the sake of being there," Zuma said.

"We need concrete programmes and concrete solutions to matters that effect the world."