U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner this afternoon predicted that the G-20 discussions that began tonight and will conclude Friday will produce broad agreement not just on an ambitious set of goals for reforming the world economy but on timetables for assessing progress toward them.

In remarks at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center as the world leaders were gathering at the Phipps Conservatory a few miles away, Mr. Geithner said that the meeting's chief goal was an accord on balanced and sustainable growth so that the world would not emerge from this crisis on a path to one more cycle of boom-and-bust.

The treasury secretary said the nations also would reach an accord on the regulations of their financial markets to discourage practices that increase risk in the economy. He said that new regime, while implemented differently in different countries, would be monitored by a newly empowered Financial Stability Board to ensure that countries do not seek to attract investment with lax standards and scant oversight.

Mr. Geithner said that while there were signs of recovery in the U.S. and across the world and it was imperative to wind down stimulus measures at some point, it was not appropriate to do so immediately.

As he opened his remarks he said again that the administration had chosen Pittsburgh for the new talks because it presented "a powerful example of how a city can transform itself."

Mr. Geithner made teh first real summit news after a day in which activists filled the void for journalists stationed at the convention center waiting for world leaders.

Representatives of Save the Children, an international humanitarian organization aimed at improving the lives of children in need, urged world leaders to work toward alleviating suffering among the world's poor when addressing economic recovery.

Michael Klosson, associate vice president and chief policy officer, said a sustainable economic recovery depends on improving the lives of people living in poverty, particularly children, in the areas of health, education and economic opportunity.

"We're here to reinforce that we shouldn't just be concerned about recovery in developed countries, but in poorer countries as well," he said.

Mr. Klosson said he hoped the G-20 conference would lead to both short-term actions such as providing funding for developing countries, as well as lay the foundation for long-term goals such better agricultural and health systems.

He said that the U.S. delegation has been "very open" to engaging in dialogue with Save the Children leading up to the G-20 conference. Tomorrow, Save the Children will reach out to various delegations to raise awareness about its mission, he said.

The Global Health Council called on Western countries and developing nations to do their part to improve world health, prevent the spread of malaria, reduce infant mortality and improve reproductive health.

The organizations membership includes more than 200 nonprofits and corporations worldwide. It wants to ensure G-20 leaders include global health issues in their discussions tonight and tomorrow. So far, it doesn't appear world health is on the agenda, said David Olson, the council's director of policy communications.

"It's up to richer countries to provide resources to help developing countries," he said.

But developing nations have to do their share, too, Mr. Olson said.

"They need to use their own resources and money to implement effective health programs that are transparent and measurable," he said.

It isn't just about money, he said, but also ensuring programs are effective.

An international relief group, InterAction, said climate changes are already causing setbacks in developing countries of the world and damaging the efforts of international development and relief efforts.

Vanessa Dick, a spokeswoman for the coalition of 180 international relief organizations, said she hopes that the G20 ministers will follow the leadership of the Obama administration in sending strong signals to the climate change summit in Copenhagen that it's time to make specific commitments to fund the $150 billion a year that will be needed to address mitigation and adaptation issues.

"We have a real opportunity here, a chance to put out a united signal that can dismantle the logjam on climate change," Ms. Dick said.

She said Mr. Obama's speech to the United Nations this week sounded all the right notes and represented "a reengagement on international negotiations" that was lacking in the Bush administration.

Although she is hoping the G20 ministers make specific dollar commitments to fund climate change initiatives, she recognizes the political realities facing a climate bill in the Senate.

"The G20 should realize that the long-term solution to the economic crisis contains solutions to the climate change crisis," Ms. Dick said. ""We can't keep dancing around that issue. The time is up."

Official work is expected to begin later today, with dinner at the Phipps Conservatory, where the heads of government and their finance ministers will begin their discussion of the world's economy by assessing their success of previous efforts at summits in Washington and London over the past year.

Tomorrow, the conversations shift to the convention center.

The high-profile meetings are the culmination of negotiations across the globe that have taken place to shape its agenda and those of related forums on trade, climate change and the rules of the road for finance in a post-crisis world.