Bereft of a quick fix to ward off recession, the world's leading finance ministers on Saturday voiced confidence in stronger growth and committed to deep-seated reforms for rich and poor regions as the remedy.
Meeting for the first time since the end of the war in Iraq, ministers from the G7 powers and Russia discussed but broke little ground on debt relief, terror funds, financial stability and links with the developing world, in preparation for a summit of heads of state in two weeks time in Evian.
Despite fears of imminent recession in many G7 countries, concerns about Japanese-style deflation spreading across the globe and the recent slide in the US dollar, ministers said that many downside risks had receded.
"We're optimistic more than anything else," French Finance Minister and G7 host Francis Mer told a news conference.
The statement at the end of the two-day gathering on Saturday provided a "to do" list of ongoing reforms for each country to pursue in order to create a better environment for the private sector to lead economic recovery.
The G7 said there was optimism economies would improve soon without the need for any emergency action and officials told reporters there was some hope business and consumer confidence would improve following the end of the war in Iraq.
The G7 countries -- the US, Canada, Japan, Italy, Britain, Germany and host France -- said dangers to global growth and prosperity were receding but challenges remained.
The US said it would encourage job creation by urging more savings and investment by individuals and companies. European nations said they would continue to work for more flexible economies via reforms of labor, product and capital markets.
Japan, grappling with a fresh crisis at one of its leading banks just as the G7 met, emphasized financial sector reform and the need to fight deflation.
The lack of concrete action may reflect the fact that the main goal of the meeting was to tee-up next month's summit in the French town of Evian, where French President Jacques Chirac wants more vocal commitments to bridging the gap with Africa and other impoverished parts of the world.
The ministers also addressed issues of better-organized lending structures for developing and middle-income countries.
In a new initiative, G7 ministers asked the Paris Club of creditor nations to find more flexible ways of dealing with the debt problems of countries with big repayment troubles in a move that could be applied to post-war Iraq.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source