World leaders wrap up Davos discussions on global issues
- Source: Xinhua
- [19:13 January 31 2010]
- Comments
World leaders finished Sunday in Davos their five days of discussions on a wide range of global issues, particularly post-crisis economic recovery, the improvement of financial regulation and climate change.
The world economy, after experiencing the worst crisis since the 1930s, is recovering, but at an uneven pace in different countries, the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting was told. Most participants agreed that fast growing emerging economies, such as China and India, are leading the recovery, while the United States and Europe are lagging behind.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), warned that the recovery, though better than expected, was still fragile. He urged governments to remain cautious as they examine exit strategies from various stimulus packages they have implemented in response to the global crisis.
Despite wide consensus that the global financial system needs to be better regulated, participants at the meeting had different views on what changes should be made.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was among leaders who advocate a bold reform of the financial system. In his opening address on Wednesday he called for a "new Bretton Woods" so that new rules and institutions could be established.
"We will continue to make our economy run risks greater than it can bear, to encourage speculation and to sacrifice our long-term future, if we do not change the regulation of our banking system and the rules for accounting," he said.
But some others took a more cautious view on financial reforms. "We need good regulation, better regulation but not more regulation," said Lord Levene, chairman of British bank Lloyd's.
Dennis Nally, global chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers had this to say:"We need to fix the right types of changes... and we should not overreact or rush to short-term actions that may sound good or may grab headlines but quite frankly would not serve the fundamental problems all of us need to address."
Mexican President Felipe Calderon, whose country will host this year's UN climate change conference, called on business and political leaders in Davos to make concerted efforts for a "robust, substantial and comprehensive agreement" on climate change.
But he admitted that expectations for the conference were low, mainly because of the lack of a financing mechanism for clear energy projects. He called on rich countries and enterprises to help with clean energy projects in developing countries so that they can realize low-carbon growth.
While it is not easy to reach agreement on such important global issues as climate change and financial reform, all participants at the meeting agree that global collaboration is necessary in addressing them.
"The storm has not subsided, and we have to continue working together like passengers on a same boat," said Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang in a special message to the meeting.
"The international financial crisis is not over yet and the foundation for economic recovery is still weak. Continued cooperation among countries is needed to avoid twists and turns and reduce risks in the course of recovery," he said.
The annual forum also great concern over the development in quake-devastated Haiti, with former U.S. President Bill Clinton urging business leaders to provide urgent aid to help the country rebuild.
Other important issues on the agenda of the five-day meeting included situation in the Middle East and the reconstruction of Afghanistan.
The Geneva-based WEF, the 40th of this annual event, drew the participation of more than 2,500 leaders from over 90 countries, representing business, government, civil society, academia and the media.
WEF officials have said that the Davos forum is not a decision-making place, but is meant to provide a platform for all stakeholders in the world to discuss pressing issues facing the international community.
