The days remaining before the start of the two-day summit in Seoul, South Korea, of the leaders of the world’s 20 most-developed economies – the G20 – are seeing what have become the customary rituals, of protests, special pleading, negotiations on a final statement and, of course, an intractable issue.
 
According to a report by the Voice of America, thousands of demonstrators converged on central Seoul on November 7 for the first of a promised series of protests against this week's G20 leaders' summit, being held on November 11 and 12.

South Korean labour union activists, joined by a smattering of foreign protesters, began what they are calling a peoples' week of collective action against the Group of 20 summit.

They are hoping their voices will be heard, calling for alternative solutions to global economic and social concerns.
 
The previous G20 leaders' summit, earlier this year, in Toronto, Canada, saw violence erupt on the streets.

Government officials here say they have barred hundreds of foreign activists, known for organising violent protests at international summits, from entering South Korea, VOA reported.

Local activists call the move to limit the movement of protesters undemocratic. They say they intend to hold peaceful rallies but cannot guarantee there will not be violence if police try to stop the demonstrations.
 
The G20 Seoul summit’s theme is "Shared Growth Beyond Crisis."
 
The G20 summit in Toronto produced an agreement brokered by the host country that members of the group should cut their budget deficits in half by 2013, and by 2016, should stabilise or begin reducing the percentage of their debt as a proportion of gross domestic product.
 
If the G20 Seoul summit does not produce a broad, multi-lateral agreement on currency policy, an issue that has emerged as the main one facing the gathering, then the United States and China could square off over the issue.
 
The US federal reserve plans to pump $600 billion into the US economy to try to jump-start it, a move that is upsetting some other G20 countries, VOA said.
 
Meanwhile, on November 5, the United Nations said that its Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, had written to the leaders of the G20 countries, urging them to continue their efforts to sustain economic recovery and to lay the foundations for more inclusive, resilient and green growth.

Ban, who will attend the Seoul summit, said that he had held consultations on development with UN member states.
 
While there were divergences within the G20 on some issues, all countries agreed that it was important not to let the recovery falter at this stage. The world’s poor would again have to pay an unacceptable price, he said.

Ban urged leaders to continue to focus on a sustainable recovery, including through efforts to deliver the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the set of poverty reduction and social development targets with a 2015 deadline.

Ban said in the letter that G20 nations could contribute to development by addressing vulnerabilities as they emerge; dealing with climate change directly; and addressing food and nutrition security comprehensively.

In Seoul, the Korea Herald said on November 8 that G20 finance officials had launched tough negotiations in Seoul to finalise a joint statement to be issued by G20 leaders on November 12 at the end of the summit. 

Korea handed out the draft to each member last week, according to a key official of the Presidential Committee for the G20 Summit. 
 
* The G20 was formally established in 1999 as a way to gather the world’s largest industrialised nations and developing nations to discuss global economic issues. The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with the EU.