ID :
26217
Thu, 10/23/2008 - 23:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/26217
The shortlink copeid
South Korean President Lee invited to financial summit of G20 leaders
(ATTN: UPDATES with more details, background throughout)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has been invited to the financial summit of leaders of the world's 20 most advanced and major developing countries in mid-November to discuss ways to tackle the ongoing global financial meltdown, the White House said.
"Today, the president is inviting the leaders of the Group of 20 countries to a
summit in the Washington, D.C., area, on November 15 to discuss financial markets
and the global economy," spokesperson Dana Perino said in a statement.
The Group of 20 members are South Korea, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the U.S., and the European
Union, Perino said.
The G20 summit is an extension of the G20 finance ministers' meeting established
in 1999 to tackle the Asian financial crisis.
White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said he looks forward to South
Korean President Lee's contribution to the financial summit.
"He spent some of his career in business and understands these issues very well
and has a great deal of insight," Fratto said. "I know from conversations he has
had with President Bush."
In a phone call Tuesday between Lee and Bush, they pledged to seek closer
cooperation, take an active role in subduing the global financial turmoil,
protect the principles of the free market and dispel any protectionist move in
the process, according to South Korea's presidential office.
Fratto said Lee and Bush likely will discuss the pending free trade agreement in
the "first serious" financial summit to address ways to promote free trade as
well as "the underlying causes of the financial crisis."
"One of our top priorities is to get the U.S.-South Korea FTA passed," he said,
noting that the pact is the biggest for the U.S. since the North American Free
Trade Agreement that went into effect in early 1990s. It is "a large and very
important trade agreement for the U.S. within, and for South Korea also."
He said they will also discuss "trade in general," such as the Doha round
multilateral trade negotiations, which faltered earlier this year because
advanced countries were reluctant to cut farm subsidies and China, India, Brazil
and other developing economies resisted pressure for substantial tariff
reductions on manufactured goods.
China, India, Brazil are among the G20 financial summit participants, spawning
hopes for revival of the Doha talks.
Their and South Korea's inclusion in the summit comes amid criticism that the G8
summit of advanced economies is not enough to quell the ongoing financial crisis
in the closely intertwined global economy.
China's foreign exchange reserves have reached nearly US$2 trillion and the
reserves of South Korea and India surpassed $200 billion and $300 billion,
respectively, with a greater portion being U.S. treasury bonds, which could
possibly destabilize the value of the currency and the credibility of the U.S.
amid its huge trade and budget deficits.
The call for the financial summit comes amid the subprime mortgage crisis caused
by falling housing prices that created a credit crunch and havoc not only for
U.S. financial institutions but also for the closely intertwined global
financial market.
In recent weeks, the U.S. government has legislated a provision of up to US$700
billion in bailout measures for the crippled U.S. financial industry. Other
governments followed suit by announcing measures to provide liquidity and
guarantee deposits to stabilize their own volatile markets.
Speculation abounds that the leaders of the world's major economies could discuss
the creation of a new financial regime such as the Bretton Woods system, which
was launched soon after the end of World War II and was based on fixed foreign
exchange rates buttressed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy recently talked about the need to introduce a
new global financial regime in which financial institutions are subjected to more
regulation, amid criticism that the current financial turmoil came about partly
due to failure by the U.S. government to properly regulate financial
institutions.
Fratto dismissed such criticism and defended the IMF, saying, "The IMF has done
an excellent job in trying to promote the kinds of policies that lead to economic
growth and that encourage trade and investment between countries, which, as I
said, we believe is the best way to improve standards of living for people across
the globe."
He said countries can have "different feelings about the IMF and how it should
operate," but added, "People talk about rewriting the rule book, there really
isn't that kind of rule book. We have lots of rules out there, lots of systems,
lots of ideas for how the international economy should operate."
In an interview with the French daily Le Figaro Wednesday, South Korean President
Lee stressed the need to reform the current global financial system.
"The ongoing financial crisis shows the current financial system does not catch
up with the changes being made in the finance industry," he said. "Under the new
financial transaction environment, it is time for us either to greatly reform the
existing regime or to make a completely new one."
Perino, meanwhile, said the summit will provide "an important opportunity for
leaders to strengthen the underpinnings of capitalism by discussing how they can
enhance their commitment to open competitive economies, as well as trade and
investment liberalization."
The leaders will also "review progress being made to address the current
financial crisis, advance a common understanding of its causes, and, in order to
avoid a repetition, agree on a common set of principles for reform of the
regulatory and institutional regimes for the world's financial sectors," she
said.
The press secretary hoped that working groups will be established for development
of such principles "in subsequent summits."
"In addition, we expect that the leaders will discuss the effects of the crisis
on emerging economies and developing nations," she said.
The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, the president of the
World Bank, the United Nations secretary-general, and the chairman of the
Financial Stability Forum will also attend the summit, Perino said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has been invited to the financial summit of leaders of the world's 20 most advanced and major developing countries in mid-November to discuss ways to tackle the ongoing global financial meltdown, the White House said.
"Today, the president is inviting the leaders of the Group of 20 countries to a
summit in the Washington, D.C., area, on November 15 to discuss financial markets
and the global economy," spokesperson Dana Perino said in a statement.
The Group of 20 members are South Korea, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada,
China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi
Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the U.S., and the European
Union, Perino said.
The G20 summit is an extension of the G20 finance ministers' meeting established
in 1999 to tackle the Asian financial crisis.
White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto said he looks forward to South
Korean President Lee's contribution to the financial summit.
"He spent some of his career in business and understands these issues very well
and has a great deal of insight," Fratto said. "I know from conversations he has
had with President Bush."
In a phone call Tuesday between Lee and Bush, they pledged to seek closer
cooperation, take an active role in subduing the global financial turmoil,
protect the principles of the free market and dispel any protectionist move in
the process, according to South Korea's presidential office.
Fratto said Lee and Bush likely will discuss the pending free trade agreement in
the "first serious" financial summit to address ways to promote free trade as
well as "the underlying causes of the financial crisis."
"One of our top priorities is to get the U.S.-South Korea FTA passed," he said,
noting that the pact is the biggest for the U.S. since the North American Free
Trade Agreement that went into effect in early 1990s. It is "a large and very
important trade agreement for the U.S. within, and for South Korea also."
He said they will also discuss "trade in general," such as the Doha round
multilateral trade negotiations, which faltered earlier this year because
advanced countries were reluctant to cut farm subsidies and China, India, Brazil
and other developing economies resisted pressure for substantial tariff
reductions on manufactured goods.
China, India, Brazil are among the G20 financial summit participants, spawning
hopes for revival of the Doha talks.
Their and South Korea's inclusion in the summit comes amid criticism that the G8
summit of advanced economies is not enough to quell the ongoing financial crisis
in the closely intertwined global economy.
China's foreign exchange reserves have reached nearly US$2 trillion and the
reserves of South Korea and India surpassed $200 billion and $300 billion,
respectively, with a greater portion being U.S. treasury bonds, which could
possibly destabilize the value of the currency and the credibility of the U.S.
amid its huge trade and budget deficits.
The call for the financial summit comes amid the subprime mortgage crisis caused
by falling housing prices that created a credit crunch and havoc not only for
U.S. financial institutions but also for the closely intertwined global
financial market.
In recent weeks, the U.S. government has legislated a provision of up to US$700
billion in bailout measures for the crippled U.S. financial industry. Other
governments followed suit by announcing measures to provide liquidity and
guarantee deposits to stabilize their own volatile markets.
Speculation abounds that the leaders of the world's major economies could discuss
the creation of a new financial regime such as the Bretton Woods system, which
was launched soon after the end of World War II and was based on fixed foreign
exchange rates buttressed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy recently talked about the need to introduce a
new global financial regime in which financial institutions are subjected to more
regulation, amid criticism that the current financial turmoil came about partly
due to failure by the U.S. government to properly regulate financial
institutions.
Fratto dismissed such criticism and defended the IMF, saying, "The IMF has done
an excellent job in trying to promote the kinds of policies that lead to economic
growth and that encourage trade and investment between countries, which, as I
said, we believe is the best way to improve standards of living for people across
the globe."
He said countries can have "different feelings about the IMF and how it should
operate," but added, "People talk about rewriting the rule book, there really
isn't that kind of rule book. We have lots of rules out there, lots of systems,
lots of ideas for how the international economy should operate."
In an interview with the French daily Le Figaro Wednesday, South Korean President
Lee stressed the need to reform the current global financial system.
"The ongoing financial crisis shows the current financial system does not catch
up with the changes being made in the finance industry," he said. "Under the new
financial transaction environment, it is time for us either to greatly reform the
existing regime or to make a completely new one."
Perino, meanwhile, said the summit will provide "an important opportunity for
leaders to strengthen the underpinnings of capitalism by discussing how they can
enhance their commitment to open competitive economies, as well as trade and
investment liberalization."
The leaders will also "review progress being made to address the current
financial crisis, advance a common understanding of its causes, and, in order to
avoid a repetition, agree on a common set of principles for reform of the
regulatory and institutional regimes for the world's financial sectors," she
said.
The press secretary hoped that working groups will be established for development
of such principles "in subsequent summits."
"In addition, we expect that the leaders will discuss the effects of the crisis
on emerging economies and developing nations," she said.
The managing director of the International Monetary Fund, the president of the
World Bank, the United Nations secretary-general, and the chairman of the
Financial Stability Forum will also attend the summit, Perino said.
hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)
