The G20 Digital Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy held in April 2017 focused on cooperation in digital policies among major economies. In which of the following countries was this G20 Digital Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy hosted?

Introduction / Context:
This question comes from the area of international organisations and summits. The G20 brings together major advanced and emerging economies to discuss global economic issues. In 2017, there was a specific G20 Digital Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy, and knowing the host country is part of exam level current affairs.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The meeting mentioned is the G20 Digital Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy.
• The year is clearly given as April 2017.
• The options are European and other major economies that frequently host such meetings.
• Only one country actually hosted this particular digital economy ministerial in 2017.

Concept / Approach:
G20 meetings are hosted by the country that holds the G20 presidency for that year. In 2017, Germany held the G20 presidency and therefore hosted several related meetings, including the Digital Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy in cities such as Duesseldorf. Recognising the link between the presidency and hosting duties is a simple way to deduce the correct answer even if you do not remember the specific city.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that Germany was the G20 president in 2017 and hosted the main G20 summit in Hamburg. Step 2: Note that ministerial level meetings on topics like finance, foreign affairs and digital economy are typically organised in the same presidency year by the same country. Step 3: Look at the options and immediately connect 2017 with Germany as a strong candidate. Step 4: Consider that Italy, France, the United States of America and Japan have hosted G20 events in other years, but not this particular 2017 digital economy ministerial. Step 5: Select Germany as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Alternative verification can be done by recalling that the 2016 G20 summit was in China and the 2018 summit was in Argentina, so neither of these years fits the 2017 meeting described. Germany is consistently associated with the 2017 G20 presidency in current affairs notes. Digital economy and Industry 4 point 0 themes were especially highlighted by Germany during its presidency year, which further supports the idea that the Digital Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy took place there.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Italy has hosted G20 events, such as the 2021 summit, but it was not the host for the 2017 digital economy ministerial.
France has been involved in G20 discussions, yet it did not hold the G20 presidency in 2017 and therefore did not host this specific meeting.
The United States of America is a key G20 member but was not the host country for the G20 Digital Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy in April 2017.
Japan has hosted other G20 meetings, including the 2019 summit in Osaka, but again this does not relate to the 2017 digital economy ministerial in question.

Common Pitfalls:
Many students confuse different years of G20 presidencies, especially when multiple host countries appear frequently in the news. Another pitfall is to guess the United States of America or Japan simply because of their strong technology sectors, without considering the specific timeline. To avoid such errors, it is helpful to memorise a simple chronological list of recent G20 host countries and to recall that Germany held the presidency in 2017, which ties it to the digital economy ministerial mentioned in this question.

Final Answer:
The G20 Digital Ministerial Meeting on the Digital Economy held in April 2017 was hosted by Germany.