G20 grapples with growth targets

CAIRNS, Australia, Sept 18 (AFP): Finance ministers from G20 nations meet in Cairns this weekend as they grapple with how to achieve a lift in global growth by two percent while being held back by a sickly eurozone recovery.

Strengthening global growth, creating jobs and how to achieve this is the Group of 20's top priority under Australia's rotating presidency, along with making the world economy more resilient to future shocks.

At a meeting in Sydney in February, finance ministers and central bank governors from the world's biggest economies vowed to shift away from austerity and boost their collective gross domestic product by more than US$2.0 trillion over the next five years. To meet the goal they pledged to work on reforms to accelerate infrastructure investment, lift employment and enhance trade-but there are fears some countries are no longer fully committed, with many at different stages of the economic cycle.