G20 meeting ends with pledges to tackle global financial meltdown(1)

2008-11-10 16:05:38 [ Big Normal Small ]    　Comment

Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

British Treasury Financial Secretary Stephen Timms, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega and Finance Minister of South Africa Trevor Manuel (from L to R) attend a press conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov. 9, 2008. The G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governers' Meeting closed on Sunday.  (Xinhua/Zhang Chuanqi)
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SAO PAULO, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 (G20) major industrial and emerging economies closed their annual meeting here Sunday, vowing to jointly tackle the global financial crisis.

The G20 has "a critical role to play in ensuring global financial and economic stability," said a joint statement released at the end of the two-day meeting.

Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega, who chaired the meeting, said the participants agreed that "joint and coordinated action," "greater regulation of financial markets" and "total agreement" on policies are required to regain financial stability.

Other actions agreed upon at the meeting include fiscal incentives to enterprises, and more international cooperation to identify and rapidly respond to signs of national and international crisis.

The officials agreed that tax cuts and increased government spending are necessary to avoid a recession. They also pledged increased communication and coordination in the face of the crisis.

The agreements reached at the meeting will be discussed further at the upcoming summit of the group's leaders scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Washington.

Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega attends a press conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov. 9, 2008. The G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governers' Meeting was closed on Sunday.  (Xinhua/Zhang Chuanqi)
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Mantega, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the bloc, said each country will take action according to its own situation.

He described Russia's call for the founding of a G20 treaty similar to the EU's Maastricht Treaty, which defines the fiscal targets of EU members, as an "interesting" alternative.

However, as the United States and some EU countries have larger fiscal deficits than others, they should be given larger deficit tolerance under such a treaty, he added.

Mantega said most participants believed the bailout packages of the United States and Europe have so far failed to restore the credit lines and confidence needed to halt the crisis.

Thus, additional measures are necessary, he said.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for a "new world financial architecture" to be built in the wake of the current financial crisis.

Lula made the plea for a serious and urgent reform of the current global financial system, which he described as "a castle made of playing cards."

The Group of Seven (G7) alone will not be able to resolve the world's problems, and we need a new, more participative governance, Lula said.

The G7 is composed of the seven major industrial countries -- the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada.

British Treasury Financial Secretary Stephen Timms attends a press conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov. 9, 2008. The G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governers' Meeting was closed on Sunday.  (Xinhua/Zhang Chuanqi)

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