Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) here on Saturday reaffirmed their commitment to international economic cooperation and pledged to take concrete steps to foster global growth.

In a declaration announced on the opening day of a two-day annual summit, the G20 leaders said they would act in concrete ways through partnerships to accelerate strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth.

"Cascading crises have posed challenges to long-term growth," the group warned, stressing that G20 cooperation is essential in determining the course the world takes.

The group said they would speed up the full and effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and scale up financing from all sources for accelerating progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The leaders said they would better integrate the perspectives of developing countries into the future G20 agenda and strengthen the voice of developing countries in global decision-making.

They said they would protect the vulnerable by promoting equitable growth and enhancing macroeconomic and financial stability.

Welcoming the African Union (AU) as a permanent member of the G20, the group said it strongly believed the AU's inclusion into the G20 would significantly contribute to addressing global challenges.

The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their ties with and support to the AU and reiterated their strong support of Africa.

They also vowed to improve access to digital services and digital public infrastructure, and leverage digital transformation opportunities to boost sustainable and inclusive growth.

The G20 members pledged to work towards facilitating low-cost financing for developing countries to support their transition to low carbon/emissions.

"Through these actions today, we are building towards a system that better empowers countries to address global challenges," the declaration said.

Established in 1999, the G20 is a central forum for international cooperation on financial and economic issues. It comprises 19 countries plus the European Union, and the AU, which was just included in the group on Saturday.

The countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Türkiye, and the United States.