Nowadays an outsider might have an impression that the G20 is losing relevance, while in 2008 after the most severe phase of the financial crisis it seemed to be at the heart of the global economy stabilization strategy. But that is definitely not the case, Ksenia Yudaeva claims; the tasks for the forum now are different and probably tougher.

"Overcoming stagnation turns out to be a much more complicated task than getting out of a free fall," Ms.Yudaeva said.

Putting an end to the crisis in 2008 required some well-known and widely accepted economic initiatives stemming from the lessons learnt in the 1930s: let fiscal policies support growth and avoid protectionism. The G20 then moved on to focus on the problems within the financial system, which had brought the crisis about.

"Now it is time for the G20 to pay attention to the initiatives aimed at improving the economies' performance," the Russian sherpa stressed, "which might require different policy responses by different types of countries."

The full text of the interview can be viewed here

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