The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, has warmly welcomed the outcomes of the meeting of G20 leaders in Washington at the weekend.

"I congratulate the G20 leaders on the truly multilateral spirit in which they have joined together to tackle the economic challenges facing the world today. A continued spirit of multilateralism is needed now, not only to meet the continuing development emergency facing many in the world today but also to tackle the fundamental economic and financial challenges facing the world in the medium term."

Mr Sharma stressed that the Washington summit must also be viewed as the start of a longer and inclusive process of global thinking and discussion.

"The journey to global reform on a global scale has begun, and it must be one in which the concerns of all states are taken into account."

"Democracy and participation are at the heart of the Commonwealth's approach to reform. I look to G20 leaders at their next meeting in April 2009 to set out a structured process of consultation through which the views of all countries can be brought to bear on the reform agenda. In a networked world,180 smaller or poorer countries in the world will vouch for the fact that 20 countries alone cannot speak authoritatively for them, nor solve the complex reform puzzle if they act alone. We welcome the fact that the G20 statement recognises this,"' the Secretary-General said.

What is Bretton Woods?

- Bretton Woods is an area in New Hampshire in the United States where an international conference establishing the International Monetary Fund and World Bank took place in 1944.

- The Bretton Woods system of international monetary management was characterised by fixed exchange rates and rules to maintain the stability of this system.

- The system broke down in the early 1970s.

The Secretary-General added that the Commonwealth looked forward to supporting further steps in the global reform process given its own work in this area so far. The Commonwealth's 53 member states had committed themselves to pursuing comprehensive reform of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank at their Heads of Government meeting in Kampala in November 2007. This had been followed by a 'mini-summit' of 11 Commonwealth leaders, which had set out principles to guide reform of international institutions in June 2008, as well as another meeting of all Commonwealth Heads of Government to discuss the reform agenda in September 2008.

"The G20 is echoing the Commonwealth's call for comprehensive reform of the Bretton Woods Institutions. I especially welcome the G20 calling for greater legitimacy and effectiveness of the Bretton Woods institutions through a stronger voice for emerging and developing countries, and greater transparency and accountability."

The Secretary-General also welcomed the commitment by G20 countries to avoid raising new barriers to trade and investment in the coming year and the priority attached to making progress on the Doha Round of trade negotiations.

"I am pleased that there is a determination to avoid the mistakes of the past and maintain open markets in the face of the global downturn. Trade is recognised as a critical route out of poverty. The poorest and most vulnerable countries have the most to lose from weakness in the multilateral trading system. The Doha Round must be completed as a priority and must have genuine development dividends."

Finally, Mr Sharma stressed the importance in the G20 leader's statement on the development needs of countries.

"Building on the G20's statement of principle, the Doha Financing for Development Review meeting at the end of this month must make more progress on the substance. The global economic slow-down must not become a reason for developed countries to dilute or resile from their aid commitments to developing states," the Secretary-General concluded.