Leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) developed and emerging economies gathered in London on Thursday for a global solution to the financial and economic crisis.

Gordon Brown, the host, said he was confident that the summit will produce consensus on a global plan for economic recovery and reform.

"We are within a few hours, I think, of agreeing a global plan for economic recovery and reform and I think the significance of this is that we are looking at every aspect," Brown said on the eve of the summit, which took place in an exhibition center in eastern London.

Expectations are high that the leaders of the world's largest economies would be committed to a coordinated response to the economic crisis, an overhaul of the global financial architecture and restraint from protectionism.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2009)