Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who attended the two-day summit and had been hoping for progress in those areas, acknowledged at the end of the meetings on Friday that he and his fellow leaders had fallen short.
But he said the major industrialized and developing nations who form the G20 have recognized that these are "tough" issues that cannot be ignored.
"I think it's fair to say we did not resolve those issues here," Harper told reporters at a news conference.
But he said the G20 has set up a process for continued talks with a "timeline" to make progress.
"These are not going to be easy issues to resolve. But I think we've got everyone talking the same language, everyone understanding longer term what has to be done. For some countries the adjustment here will not be easy. But as I said, I think we're at least keeping things on a path."
The political leaders came here with the desire to make advances from the last summit in Toronto, where they set out a long-term goal of sustaining the global economic recovery.
Significant achievements evaded them on the two most contentious issues on their agenda in Seoul: Exchange rates and trade imbalances
No Consensus At G20 Summit
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