The fifth Group of 20 summit opened at the COEX exhibition center in southern Seoul on Thursday on the theme of "Shared Growth Beyond Crisis."

Thirty-three world representatives and 15 of their spouses are attending the summit. The 33 include 21 leaders of the G20 member economies, five leaders from additional countries and seven representing international organizations.

Heads of state began the official schedule with a reception and a welcome dinner at 6 p.m. Thursday at the National Museum of Korea.

Summit meetings will open Friday at COEX. Participants will discuss global cooperation on exchange rates, joint growth, financial reform and the establishment of a global financial safety net.

G20 host South Korea expects the talks will produce further progress on current account management and market-determined exchange rates that were agreed upon during the G20 finance ministerial meeting late last month.

President Lee Myung-bak will announce the Seoul Declaration summarizing the summit results in a joint conference scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m.