South Korean and Canadian leaders announced on Friday that they would co-chair a G20 summit in Canada next year, right after a G8 summit there, signaling a transition and expansion of the international economic cooperation mechanism.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a joint press conference with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak that in addition to a G8 meeting which originally planned for June 2010 in Huntsville, Ont., his government would also join the South Korean counterpart in chairing a G20 summit in the location.

"Today, I am pleased to announce that we also host a G20 summit in June 2010 as a co-chair with South Korea," he said. "G20 process has been proven critical to our collective response to the global economic recession."

The announcement came after G20 leaders who arrived here on Thursday for the two-day meeting reached an agreement to make G20 the main international body addressing global economic issues.

"G20 forum now has become a premier form for discussing the international economic cooperation issues," said Lee.

President Lee also announced that South Korea would also host another G8 summit in November, 2010, and "will continue to contribute actively so we may recover from this unprecedentedly global crisis and ensure sustained global growth."

The move was considered a major shift in the global financial architecture, which includes rising powers like China, India, Brazil, South Korea and other emerging countries, alongside with the smaller club of wealthy G8 nations -- the United States, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Japan, Germany and Russia.

"G8 meeting has served its purposes in the last many decades, talking about a whole host of issues mainly regarding global issues and concerns," Lee said. "However, now, as time passes, there are global challenges that developed countries can not solve alone."

"As we face the current global and economic crisis, G20 has been proven its effectiveness and usefulness by bringing together leaders of both developed countries and developing countries," he added.

Lee also noted that he would not forget voices and plight of those that do not participate in G20 during next year's summit, and would try to also accommodate their views and conditions.

Earlier the day, the US White House said in a statement that the G20 leaders have reached a historic agreement to put the G-20at the center of their efforts to work together to "build a durable recovery while avoiding the financial fragilities that led to the crisis."

"Today, leaders endorsed the G20 as the premier forum for their international economic cooperation. This decision brings to the table the countries needed to build a stronger, more balanced global economy, reform the financial system, and lift the lives of the poorest," it said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 26, 2009)