KIEV, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych called Friday for a global effort to fight protectionism and meet the world's economic challenges.
"I want to reiterate that we are open for cooperation. Every country has no future if it adheres to the policy of protectionism and closes its borders," Yanukovych told the 9th International Yalta Meeting in Ukraine's southern Crimean peninsula.
The world was experiencing global challenges like the impact of the European crisis, lack of food and energy resources, and growing escalation of international conflicts, he said, adding it required close cooperation from all countries to deal with these issues.
The Ukrainian president urged participants at the meeting to take extraordinary steps to tackle the global slowdown, in particular to focus on deepening reforms and modernization.
The 9th International Yalta Meeting opened Friday and attracted about 200 leading politicians, businessmen and public figures from more than 20 countries.
Yanukovych, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, former World Bank president Robert Zoellick, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and EU Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Stefan Fule are among the participants.
The meeting, held at Livadiya Palace, was jointly organized by the Yalta European Strategy group and Ukrainian media tycoon Viktor Pinchuk.
The event, launched in 2004, is now one of the largest international conferences in Eastern Europe.
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