G20 replaced G8 as the most important global forum on economic issues, Indian finance chief Palaniappan Chidambaram said on Tuesday at the World Economic Forum's 24th Indian Economic Summit.

The Group of 20 developed and developing nations, or G20, which recently held a summit on the global financial crisis in Washington of the United States, is now the key forum for tackling international economic challenges, Chidambaram told participants at the summit.

"The G20 has come to stay as the single most important forum to address the financial and economic issues of the world. The G20 is a much better forum than the G8," Chidambaram said, adding "Washington Summit was a good beginning."

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2008)