The second Group of 20 (G20) Summit concluded in London on Thursday with consensus on how to get the world out of the financial crisis, including pledge of US$1.1 trillion to revive the world economy, a joint call to fight protectionism, and concrete actions to tighten banking regulations.
In a post-summit Leaders' Statement, the G20 leaders emphasized that "the only sure foundation for sustainable globalization and rising prosperity for all is an open world economy based on market principles, effective regulation, and strong global institutions."
The G20 leaders pledged to do "whatever necessary" to restore confidence, growth, and jobs; repair the financial system to restore lending; strengthen financial regulation to rebuild trust; fund and reform international financial institutions; promote global trade and investment and reject protectionism, and build an inclusive, green and sustainable recovery.
"By acting together to fulfill these pledges we will bring the world economy out of recession and prevent a crisis like this from recurring in the future," said the statement.
For people around the globe, the new commitments by the world leaders are an important boost to restore confidence in their fight against the financial and economic crisis.
Huge funds to financial institutions to stimulate jobs, growth
Among the additional funds to be injected into international financial institutions, 500 billion dollars will go to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for it to lend to countries hit hard by the financial crisis, 250 billion dollars will be used to support a new Special Drawing Rights (SDR), 100 billion dollars will support additional lending by the multilateral development banks, and 250 billion dollars will be devoted to guarantee trade finance.
Of the additional funding for the IMF, 40 billion dollars will come from China, 100 billion from the EU, and 100 billion from Japan, according to Brown.
"Together with the measures we have taken nationally, this constitutes a global plan for recovery on an unprecedented scale," said the statement, adding that the G20 leaders are confident that the agreements reached Thursday will accelerate the return to trend growth.
With the newly pledged funds, the G20 leaders agreed to make the possible best use of investment to achieve a goal of building a resilient, sustainable and green recovery.
As Brown pointed out that trade is the "engine of growth," 250 billion dollars will be injected to stimulate trade to boost the economic recovery of countries hit by the crisis.
However, the meeting failed to agree on any new stimulus measures, which the United States had been hoping for.
Meanwhile, the G20 leaders spoke out their opposition to trade protectionism and determination to promote and facilitate global trade and investment, and remained committed to a quick conclusion of the Doha Round of world trade talks as soon as possible.
"We reaffirm the commitment made in Washington: to refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, imposing new export restrictions, or implementing World Trade Organization (WTO) inconsistent measures to stimulate exports," said the Leaders' Statement.
To ensure a "fair and sustainable recovery for all," the summit reaffirmed the commitment to meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals and to achieving ODA (official development assistance) pledges, including commitments on Aid for Trade, debt relief, and the Gleneagles commitments, especially to sub-Saharan Africa.
