The world should develop an early-warning system that would alert countries to looming financial threats, the French finance minister said on Tuesday after meeting with her Mexican counterpart.
The proposal was among the ideas French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde discussed with Mexican Finance Secretary Agustin Carstens ahead of a summit in Washington on Saturday for leaders from rich and developing nation on the international financial crisis. She gave no details on how the system would work.
In a joint news conference, Lagarde and Carstens said they agreed there should be a globally coordinated response to the financial meltdown that would include stricter government regulation, more supervision of markets, greater transparency and stimulus packages like that recently adopted by China.
PHOTO: AFP
China announced on Monday that it would boost its economy with a US$586 billion package by the end of 2010.
Carstens said the IMF needed to be strengthened. He also recommended expanding the Financial Stability Forum, founded in 1999 by the G7 leading industrialized countries with the aim of bolstering the international financial system.
“We fully agree that it’s essential that protectionism be avoided and market dynamics be preserved,” Carstens said.
Lagarde, who arrived in Mexico from meetings in Brazil, said the two Latin American countries should be among the countries invited to join the powerful G7, which has a large say in global economic policy.
Mexico has been hit hard by the economic downturn, with Fitch Ratings on Monday lowering its sovereign credit rating outlook to “negative” from “stable.” A negative outlook means there is a greater chance of the actual credit rating being downgraded.
“Agustin and I hope that the heads of state give us strong indications that support sustainable and shared growth,” Lagarde said, adding that she expected leaders to make concrete proposals and agree to a timetable to tackle the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression.
Many G20 officials have concluded that major bailout packages in the US, Europe and elsewhere have so far failed to re-establish the credit lines and confidence needed to ease the crisis, making additional measures necessary.
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