Financial leaders of the world's leading industrialized nations Saturday pledged to take individual and collective action to secure stability and growth of world economy amid worries stemming from the U.S. subprime crisis.
"We stand ready to take any further action necessary to enhance stability in the financial markets," the Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers and central bank chiefs said in a joint statement after their one-day gathering in Tokyo.
The financial chiefs noted that the world "confronts a more challenging and uncertain environment than when we met in last October."
Global financial markets have seen violent movements in recent months among worries over a possible U.S. economic recession, as well as the continuing impact from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis.
"In the United States, output and employment growth have slowed considerably and risks have become more skewed to the downside," the statement said, noting that economic growth in all G7 nations are expected to slow down in the short-term.
The U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said that the U.S. economy is expected to grow in 2008, though at a slower pace. He denied that the U.S. economy is in recession and said he has confidence in the long-term health of U.S. economy.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet also told reporters that the economic fundamentals are sound in Europe.
The officials from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States said in the statement that they will "continue to watch developments closely and will continue to take appropriate actions, individually and collectively, in order to secure stability and growth in our economies."
However, the ministers and central bankers did not find a single remedy to achieve the goal. Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga and Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui denied the possibility that the G7 members will make concerted efforts, such as in easing credit and working out fiscal stimulus packages.
"We should overcome the current situation by implementing appropriate policy measures in each country," Nukaga said, adding that "even if everybody does the same thing, the situation would not necessarily improve,"
To clearly understand the extent of the loss stemming from the troubled U.S. housing sector, the G7 urged financial institutions to disclose all necessary information. "We emphasize, in particular the importance of promoting prompt and full disclosure by financial institutions of their losses and of valuation of structured products," the statement said.
At the meeting held at the Japanese Foreign Ministry's conference hall, the leaders also called on the organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC) to raise their production to ease the soaring crude oil price. They also called for upgraded refinery capacity and improvements in energy efficiency.
The financial chiefs also discussed a plan to set up a multilateral fund to help poor countries to cut global warming through clean-energy technologies.
After the conclusion of the meeting, the G7 financial leaders had an expanded discussion with delegates from China, South Korea, Indonesia and Russia over the impact of the U.S. economic slowdown on emerging economies.
Source: Xinhua
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