Let me take three examples. One of the most important of these fora is the Group of Seven or G7, where finance ministers and central bank governors of the seven most important industrialised nations of the world meet several times a year to discuss issues of mutual interest. The G5, soon to become the G7, was created as an informal forum in the 1970s.
It is sometimes criticised for not reflecting the political and economic realities of the twenty-first century. I have had the privilege of attending all its meetings over the past 18 years. My experience is that the G7 meetings have proven an invaluable forum for cooperation on macroeconomic policies and for giving, when appropriate, signals to market participants.