Sao Paolo - Next week's meeting of the world's largest economies at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in London would be a step toward transforming global power relations while the Group of Eight's (G8) role might have come to its end, British Trade Minister Peter Mandelson said.

The reforms expected at the London summit were a signal that the "era of the G8" is over, Mandelson - who accompanied Prime Minister Gordon Brown of G8 member Britain on a trip to Brazil - said Thursday at a speech in Sao Paolo.

The summit was the beginning of a new way to make global decisions, the former EU trade commissioner said.

While it was not yet clear how that new decision-making system would look, Mandelson predicted that newly industrialized nations were to have more of a say, but also more responsibilities, in finding ways out of the global economic crisis.

"The G20 will not transform the world, but it will make a decisive step forward in a number of areas," Mandelson said, adding that the summit was necessary to build trust that the world's leaders have learned from past mistakes and found a way out of the crisis.

The G8 consists of Britain as well as the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Russia.

The G20's membership consists of the G8 countries as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey and the European Union. (dpa)