The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international organization that oversees and liberalizes global trade. It provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements and resolving disputes between member countries. The WTO currently has 153 member countries and seeks to continue trade negotiations through the Doha Development Round. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) promotes international economic cooperation and monetary policies. It provides loans to countries experiencing financial difficulties and requires structural adjustment programs in exchange. The IMF has 187 member countries and works to improve their economies. The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and strategies to reduce poverty in developing countries. It has 187 member countries for its Reconstruction and Development association and 168 for its

1. World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an organization that intends to supervise and
liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under
the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT),
which commenced in 1948. The organization deals with regulation of trade between participating
countries; it provides a framework for negotiating and formalizing trade agreements, and a
dispute resolution process aimed at enforcing participants' adherence to WTO agreements which
are signed by representatives of member governments and ratified by their parliaments. Most of
the issues that the WTO focuses on derive from previous trade negotiations, especially from the
Uruguay Round (1986–1994).
The organization is currently endeavoring to persist with a trade negotiation called the Doha
Development Agenda (or Doha Round), which was launched in 2001 to enhance equitable
participation of poorer countries which represent a majority of the world's population. However,
the negotiation has been dogged by "disagreement between exporters of agricultural bulk
commodities and countries with large numbers of subsistence farmers on the precise terms of a
'special safeguard measure' to protect farmers from surges in imports. At this time, the future of
the Doha Round is uncertain."
The WTO has 153 members, representing more than 97% of the world's population, and 30
observers, most seeking membership. The WTO is governed by a ministerial conference,
meeting every two years; a general council, which implements the conference's policy decisions
and is responsible for day-to-day administration; and a director-general, who is appointed by the
ministerial conference. The WTO's headquarters is at the Centre William Rappard, Geneva,
Switzerland.
Functions
Among the various functions of the WTO, these are regarded by analysts as the most important:
 It oversees the implementation, administration and operation of the covered agreements.
 It provides a forum for negotiations and for settling disputes.
Additionally, it is the WTO's duty to review and propagate the national trade policies, and to
ensure the coherence and transparency of trade policies through surveillance in global economic
policy-making. Another priority of the WTO is the assistance of developing, least-developed and
low-income countries in transition to adjust to WTO rules and disciplines through technical
cooperation and training.
The WTO is also a center of economic research and analysis: regular assessments of the global
trade picture in its annual publications and research reports on specific topics are produced by
the organization. Finally, the WTO cooperates closely with the two other components of the
Bretton Woods system, the IMF and the World Bank.

2. International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an intergovernmental organization that promotes
international economic cooperation, focusing in particular on policies that have an impact on
the exchange rate and the balance of payments. The organization's stated objectives are to
promote international economic cooperation, international trade, employment, and exchange rate
stability, including by making resources available to member countries to meet balance of
payments needs. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C. The IMF’s relatively high influence in
world affairs and development has drawn heavy criticism from some sources.
The IMF was conceived on July 22, 1944 originally with 45 members and came into existence
on December 27, 1945 when 29 countries signed the agreement, with a goal to stabilize
exchange rates and assist the reconstruction of the world’s international payment system.
Countries contributed to a pool which could be borrowed from, on a temporary basis, by
countries with payment imbalances. The IMF was important when it was first created because it
helped the world stabilize the economic system. The IMF works to improve the economies of its
member countries. The IMF describes itself as “an organization of 187 countries (as of July
2010), working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate
international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce
poverty.”
Assistance and reforms
The primary mission of the IMF is to provide financial assistance to countries that experience
serious financial and economic difficulties using funds deposited with the IMF from the
institution’s 187 member countries. Member states with balance of payments problems, which
often arise from these difficulties, may request loans to help fill gaps between what countries
earn and/or are able to borrow from other official lenders and what countries must spend to
operate, including covering the cost of importing basic goods and services. In return, countries
are usually required to launch structural adjustment programs (SAPs), which have often been
dubbed the Washington Consensus. These reforms are thought to be beneficial to countries
with fixed exchange rate policies that may engage in fiscal, monetary, and political practices that
may lead to the crisis itself. For example, nations with severe budget deficits, rampant inflation,
strict price controls, or significantly overvalued or undervalued currencies run the risk of facing
balance-of-payment crises. Thus, the structural adjustment programs are at least ostensibly
intended to ensure that the IMF is actually helping to prevent financial crises rather than merely
funding financial recklessness.
Following the recent economic crisis, the IMF has attempted to help emerging economies deal
with large capital outflows.

3. World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing
countries for capital programmes.
The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty. By law, all of its decisions must be
guided by a commitment to promote foreign investment, international trade and facilitate capital
investment.
The World Bank differs from the World Bank Group, in that the World Bank comprises only two
institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the
International Development Association (IDA), whereas the latter incorporates these two in
addition to three more: International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment
Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
(ICSID).
Members
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has 187 member countries,
while the International Development Association (IDA) has 168 members. Each member state of
IBRD should be also a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and only members of
IBRD are allowed to join other institutions within the Bank (such as IDA).
Poverty reduction strategies
For the poorest developing countries in the world, the bank's assistance plans are based
on poverty reduction strategies; by combining a cross-section of local groups with an extensive
analysis of the country's financial and economic situation the World Bank develops a strategy
pertaining uniquely to the country in question. The government then identifies the country's
priorities and targets for the reduction of poverty, and the World Bank aligns its aid efforts
correspondingly.
Forty-five countries pledged US$25.1 billion in "aid for the world's poorest countries", aid that
goes to the World Bank International Development Association (IDA) which distributes the
loans to eighty poorer countries. While wealthier nations sometimes fund their own aid projects,
including those for diseases, and although IDA is the recipient of criticism, Robert B. Zoellick,
the president of the World Bank, said when the loans were announced on December 15, 2007,
that IDA money "is the core funding that the poorest developing countries rely on"

4. G-20 major economies
The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (G-20, G20, Group
of Twenty) is a group of finance ministers and bank governors from 20 major economies: 19
countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European
Council and by the European Central Bank. Their heads of government or heads of state have
also periodically conferred at summits since their initial meeting in 2008. Collectively, the G-20
economies comprise more than 80 percent of the world's GDP, 85 percent of global gross
national product, 80 percent of world trade (including EU intra-trade) and two-thirds of
the world population. They contribute to 84.1 percent and 82.2 percent of the world's economic
growth by nominal GDP and GDP (PPP) respectively from the years 2010 to 2016 according
to International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The G-20 was proposed by former Canadian Finance Minister Paul Martin (later, Prime
Minister) for cooperation and consultation on matters pertaining to the international financial
system. It studies, reviews, and promotes discussion (among key industrial and emerging market
countries) of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability, and
seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization. With the G-
20 growing in stature since the 2008 Washington summit, its leaders announced on September
25, 2009, that the group will replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.
The heads of the G-20 nations have met semi-annually at G-20 summits since 2008. The most
recent was held in Seoul on November 11–12, 2010. Starting in 2011, G-20 summits will be held
annually.
Organization
The G-20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff. The chair rotates annually among the
members and is selected from a different regional grouping of countries. The chair is part of a
revolving three-member management group of past, present and future chairs referred to as
the Troika. The incumbent chair establishes a temporary secretariat for the duration of its term,
which coordinates the group's work and organizes its meetings. The role of the Troika is to
ensure continuity in the G-20's work and management across host years. The current chair of
G20 is France; it was handed over from South Korea after the G20 Summit during November
2010.

5. BRICS
BRICS is an international political organization of leading emerging economies, arising out of
the inclusion of South Africa into the BRIC group in 2010. As of 2011, its five members
are Brazil, Russia, India, the People's Republic of China and South Africa. With the possible
exception of Russia, the BRICS members are all developing or newly-industrialized countries,
but they are distinguished by their large economies and significant influence on regional and
global affairs.
History
The foreign ministers of the four BRIC countries met in New York City in September 2006,
beginning a series of high-level meetings. A full-scale diplomatic meeting was held in
Yekaterinburg, Russia, on May 16, 2008.
First summit
The BRIC countries met in Yekaterinburg for their first official summit on 16 June 2009, with
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dmitry Medvedev,Manmohan Singh, and Hu Jintao, the respective
leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China, all attending. The summit's focus was on means of
improving the global economic situation and reforming financial institutions, and discussed how
the four countries could better co-operate in the future. There was furthermore discussion on
ways that developing countries, such as the BRIC members, could become more involved in
global affairs.
In the aftermath of the Yekaterinburg summit, the BRIC nations announced the need for a new
global reserve currency, which would have to be 'diversified, stable and predictable'. Although
the statement that was released did not directly criticise the perceived 'dominance' of the US -
something which Russia had attacked in the past - it still led to a fall in the value of the dollar
against other major currencies.
Entry of South Africa
In 2010, South Africa began efforts to join the BRIC grouping, and the process for its formal
admission began in August of that year. South Africa officially became a member nation on
December 24, 2010, after being formally invited by China and the other BRIC countries to join
the group. The group was renamed BRICS - with the "S" standing for South Africa - to reflect
the group's expanded membership. In April 2011, South African President Jacob Zuma attended
the 2011 BRICS summit in Sanya, China, as a full member. With the accession of South Africa,
the five BRICS countries came to represent roughly one-third of the world's population, holding
an estimated US$4 trillion in foreign reserves.