Lee: G20 process should be permanent

SEOUL, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- The Group of 20 summit process should be institutionalized and made permanent to fight global economic problems, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak says.

Lee, whose country is pushing to host a future G20 summit after this month's meeting in Pittsburgh, wrote in article for the University of Toronto's G8 Research Center that leaders should look at how effective the group has been at addressing the crisis posed by the economic crisis and consider building on it, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported Sunday.

"At the fourth G20 summit, the leaders should seriously consider the institutionalization of the G20 process as a means to strengthen global governance," Lee said. "I hope that the G20 leaders recognize the need to properly prepare exit strategies for future implementation in a timely manner when the global recovery takes a firm hold."

The G20 summit, in which 20 advanced and developing economies meet at a summit, took on an expanded role in the wake of the global economic meltdown, replacing the leadership of the Group of Eight advanced economies, Yonhap said.

Lee urged the G20 leaders to be wary about the possibility of falling back into a double-dip recession.