G20 leaders undertake to secure sustainable, balanced economic growth

SEOUL - The G20 leaders have adopted a Declaration following their summit meeting in Seoul, and signed some additional documents, specifically, a framework agreement to secure sustainable and balanced economic growth, the Seoul plan of action, and documents on reforming international financial organizations, including the International Monetary Fund.

“We will strengthen multilateral cooperation to promote external sustainability and pursue the full range of policies conducive to reducing excessive imbalances and maintaining current account imbalances at sustainable levels,” the Joint Declaration said.

“Persistently large imbalances, assessed against indicative guidelines to be agreed by our Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, warrant an assessment of their nature and the root causes of impediments to adjustment as part of the MAP, recognizing the need to take into account national or regional circumstances, including large commodity producers,” it added.

To support their efforts toward meeting these commitments, the G20 leaders called on their Framework Working Group, with technical support from the IMF and other international organizations.

“We will also continue our work to prevent and tackle corruption through our Anti-Corruption Action Plan; rationalize and phase-out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies; mitigate excessive fossil fuel price volatility; safeguard the global marine environment; and combat the challenges of global climate change,” the leaders added.

” We, the Leaders of the G20, are united in our conviction that by working together we can secure a more prosperous future for the citizens of all countries. When we first gathered in November 2008 to address the most severe world recession our generation has ever confronted, we pledged to support and stabilize the global economy, and at the same time, to lay the foundation for reform, to ensure the world would never face such upheaval again,” the Joint Declaration by the leaders said.

“Over the past four Summits, we have worked with unprecedented cooperation to break the dramatic fall in the global economy to establish the basis for recovery and renewed growth. The concrete steps we have taken will help ensure we are better prepared to prevent and, if necessary, to withstand future crises,” the declaration added.

The G 20 leaders pledged to continue their coordinated efforts and act together to generate strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

“We recognize the importance of addressing the concerns of the most vulnerable. To this end, we are determined to put jobs at the heart of the recovery, to provide social protection, decent work and also to ensure accelerated growth in low-income countries. Our relentless and cooperative efforts over the last two years have delivered strong results. However, we must stay vigilant,” the declaration said.

The G 20 leaders further agreed to develop a common view to meet these new challenges and a path to strong, sustainable and balanced growth beyond the crisis.

“Risks remain. Some of us are experiencing strong growth, while others face high levels of unemployment and sluggish recovery. Uneven growth and widening imbalances are fueling the temptation to diverge from global solutions into uncoordinated actions. However, uncoordinated policy actions will only lead to worse outcomes for all,” the declaration said.

“Since 2008, a common view of the challenges of the world economy, the necessary responses and our determination to resist protectionism has enabled us to both address the root causes of the crisis and safeguard the recovery,” it added.

The G-20 leaders reaffirmed their resolute commitment to fight climate change, as reflected in the Leaders’ Seoul Summit Document. (ANI)