Sunday, October 19, 2008

Ban Ki-moon offers to host financial crisis talks at UN

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday supported French President Nicolas Sarkozy's call for global financial crisis talks and offered to host them at the UN headquarters in New York.

Ban met with Sarkozy on the sidelines of the 12th Francophone summit, after the French leader urged for an expanded meeting of the G8 leaders to seek an overhaul of the global financial system.

"I wish to confirm my strong support for your initiative, as EU president, to hold a expanded, emergency G-8 summit to address this urgent problem, and also to include the participation of the secretary-general of the United nations, as well as the heads of the world bank and the international monetary fund," Ban told Sarkozy in a letter.

"We both agree that there is no time to lose, and therefore I fully subscribe to your idea of convening such a forum in early December at the latest," he said.

Ban believed that "holding the summit at the United Nations, the symbol of multilateralism, will lend universal legitimacy to this endeavor and demonstrate a collective will to face this serious global challenge."

He cautioned that "the negative impact of the financial crisis on the world economies not undermine the major UN efforts to achieve the millennium development goals, fight against the effects of climate change and address the food crisis."

Sarkozy's proposal for the crisis talks has won the support of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who reaffirmed his determination to restore confidence and normal functioning in the Canadian financial system.

Sarkozy holds that emerging countries like China and India and Arab countries should be included at the talks.

Source: Xinhua

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