Editor's note: Thomas O. Falk is a London-based political analyst and commentator. He holds a Master of Arts in international relations from the University of Birmingham and specializes in U.S. affairs. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

After two days, however meaningful, the positive results remain scarce. An honest summary would read like this: Russia and the West blame each other over the Ukraine conflict, and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov departed early. No groundbreaking plans were made and no final declaration, as is usual after the ministerial rounds of the 19 most important industrial and emerging countries in the world plus the European Union (EU), was published.

Instead for observers, the summit might have come across as a soap opera script, which is a "shame." The G20 is far more valuable than it has shown in Bali, thus far.

Most people, no matter their ideology, can agree on the following premise: Multilateral cooperation is often upbeat and necessary. The G20, a forum for international economic cooperation, offers this opportunity.

Although critics often argue that the G20 is mostly talk and little action, and at best, a meeting where insignificant compromises are reached, the G20 possesses a far more profound influence. Since its founding in 1999, it has achieved notable successes by initiating concrete economic policy measures and paving the way for global agreements while providing stronger impetus for national policy-making.

Concrete measures have been the coordinated approach to the G20 in regards to fiscal and monetary policy, which have played a significant role in preventing the financial crisis of 2008 from getting much worse.

Beyond crisis management, the G20 initiated reforms to regulate the financial markets, as well as having implemented the "Base Erosion and Profit Shifting" Project, or BEPS. BEPS initiative is to combat tax avoidance by multinational corporations.

Moreover, the resolutions of the G20 often pave the way for more far-reaching international agreements. Although the agreements made at the G20 summits are not legally binding, they can have a significant signal effect on the international community and the work of global organizations.

For example in November 2015, the G20 countries committed themselves to be sustainable and an ambitious climate protection, paving the way for the Paris Climate Agreement. The creation of the international Basel III framework, which prescribes stricter equity and liquidity regulations for banks in the interest of financial market stability, can also be largely attributed to the G20.

The primary strength of the G20 format has been to reach consensus even on complex issues primarily due to its more informal settings, which enables a comparatively open exchanges on national priorities, country-specific perspectives and political constraints.

Additionally, each summit meeting is preceded by an intensive work process consisting of ministerial working group meetings, specialist conferences and ministerial meetings – such as the one currently conducted in Bali – which serves to develop a shared understanding of the topics to be dealt with, to exchange possible solutions and to work out formulations for the final communiques that can be reached by consensus. Especially in times of crisis, the resulting trust remains crucial for successful international cooperation, which can also positively influence the member countries' national policies.

If challenges are cross-border and global-oriented, joint, international solutions are usually sounder than national and unilateral undertakings, and this is where the strengths of the forum come into play: The 19 economically strongest countries worldwide and the EU can launch initiatives comparatively quickly, using their voice to influence the global agenda in the long term and encouraging each other to adopt better policies.

Of course, current developments in the conflict in Ukraine show that multilateral cooperation is challenging. That is why one should not overload the G20 with exaggerated expectations, but one should also not overlook that the G20 provides crucial contributions to solve global challenges.

And even amid the summit in Bali, despite everything, it serves as a ray of hope: U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will use the G20 framework for a bilateral meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday to improve bilateral relations between the governments in Washington and Beijing. And yet again, everyone could benefit from better cooperation between Beijing and Washington.

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