G20TheResult

Yesterday’s G20 summit resulted in an additional $1 trillion (£679bn) being made available to boost the world economy.

President Barack Obama claimed that the summit will signal a "turning point" in the pursuit of economic recovery and made progress in reforming a "failed regulatory system".

"By any measure the London summit was historic. It was historic because of the size and the scope of the challenges that we face and because of the timeliness and the magnitude of our response," he said.

There were some other headline initial results when World stock markets skyrocketed and a man caught up in the protests surrounding the event died.

The long anticipated violence broke out but was closely controlled by an overwhelming and well-drilled police operation that swamped the area. There are the usual repercussions that always seem to happen after huge police operations like this in Britain, with accusations flying about. But the general consensus from the watching world media was that the policing was fair, well conceived and executed.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was a very relieved and happy man when he said the new extra funding would shorten the recession and save jobs. It follows what he described as the "new consensus" reached by heads of state on taking united action to deal with economic crisis.

"This is the day that the world came together, to fight back against the global recession. Not with words but a plan for global recovery and for reform and with a clear timetable," Mr Brown stated at the conference centre in London's Docklands close to the new financial centre at Canary Wharf.

Speaking at a press conference to mark the end of the summit, Mr Brown said G20 leaders had concluded "that global problems require global solutions" and that they will "do what is necessary" but that there are "no quick fixes".

President Obama is known to have played a key role in brokering the agreement, resolving differences between France and China on tax havens.

Another G20 summit will be held later this year to check on progress.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that the conclusions of this G20 summit were "more than we could have hoped for".

The $1 trillion injection includes $250 billion (£170.2bn) in International Monetary Fund special drawing rights - available to all IMF members. This is a $150 billion increase on what had previously been suggested in order to help get trade moving again.

The "unprecedented fiscal expansion" already under way will mean a $5 trillion (£3.4tn) injection by the middle of 2010, he said, helping to save or create millions of jobs.

Six pledges were made by leaders - to restore confidence, growth, and jobs; repair the financial system to restore lending; strengthen financial regulation to rebuild trust; fund and reform international financial institutions; promote global trade and investment and reject protectionism and finally to build a sustainable recovery.

A new "financial stability board" will "ensure co-operation across frontiers and to stop risk to the economy" and provide an early-warning mechanism, he said. And for the first time, there will be a "common global approach to how we deal with impaired, or toxic, assets".

Central banks had agreed to "maintain expansionary policies as long as they are needed using the full range of options available to them".

Mr Brown affirmed there were no splits at the talks, saying: "The issues that people thought divided us did not divide us at all. There was substantial agreement on the need for us to do whatever is necessary to return to growth."

Countries had also restated their commitment to the millennium development goals and to helping tackle poverty, he said, adding the summit had agreed measures totaling $50 billion (£34bn) to assist the poorest countries.

Brown added: "This time of financial crisis is no time to walk away from our commitment to the world's poorest. We will not pass by on the other side."

Mr Brown said, “After the Wall Street Crash in 1929 it took 15 years for the world to come together and address the problems.” That delay was unforgivable and disastrous.

The Prime Minister continued: "Our priority right through this summit has been the jobs, the homes, the businesses of hard-working families in this country and, indeed, every country.”

He added that world leaders have agreed to meet again later this year.

The UK and US emphasized the need for public spending to ease the crisis while France and Germany were obviously keener for tougher financial regulation.

Mr Sarkozy had threatened to walk out of the meeting if it did not yield concrete results but this had been largely discounted as gesture politics aimed squarely at his own electorate. Like everyone else he wanted to put his own country’s spin on this event.

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel also praised the outcome.

She said the new measures would give the world a "clearer financial market architecture" and the agreement was "a very, very good, almost historic compromise" and it is clear that it did not oblige any country to launch any further economic stimulus packages.

The truth is that no one knows how well this package of measures might work, but we do know that the time to judge it will come in the months and years to come, not here or now.

We can all agree that this package is promising and perhaps, just perhaps we have seen the end of the beginning of our current crisis.