By Shilong Yang, Li Ming
The talk of the ongoing global financial crisis has stolen the limelight during the three-day summit of the International Organization of Francophonie (IOF) in the capital city of Canada's French-speaking Quebec province.
Global financial markets need urgent intervention
Representatives from 55 member countries and 13 observer nations have discussed human rights, democracy and the environment. But the urgency of the global financial uncertainty overshadowed the rest.
In their final declaration, issued at the closing ceremony Sunday afternoon, the world leaders called for an international summit on the current global financial turmoil.
"No country is immune from the turmoil that undermines the global credit markets and the turbulence that rocked our markets require urgent intervention and coordination," They said.
The IOF will actively participate in the enhancement of the international financial system to make it "more consistent", and support a reform aimed at improving "transparency, integrity and banking strength of the global economic governance".
An international summit on this issue should be held for this purpose, the declaration said.
Speaking at the news briefing immediately after the summit, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon stressed the rebuilding of the global financial system as advocated in recent weeks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
Uniform rules should apply everywhere including in tax havens as discrepancies in regulation around the world that can lead to the sort of turbulence now afflicting markets, he said.
"Nobody wants extra rules. Nobody wants protectionism. What we want is simply a regulation of the financial system that is coherent and consistent in all parts of the globe," said Fillon.
Do not ignore developing countries' interests while tackling market turmoil
Quebec Premier Jean Charest called "the first North-South forum" after the outbreak of the financial crisis a success, citing support by the United Nations to the Francophonie's call to convene an emergent world summit on the crisis.
