Commonwealth Finance Ministers meet

Washington DC - Finance ministers from Commonwealth countries have emphasized the need for economic cooperation as recovery of the global economy begins to take hold. The meeting, where Rwanda was represented for the first time as a new member, took place along the sidelines of the ongoing annual meetings of World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Addressing a press conference after the two-day meeting, James Flaherty, Canada’s Finance Minister who chaired the meeting, said that ministers had expressed concern regarding economic developments in the smallest and most vulnerable Commonwealth countries. “Economic growth in these countries has generally been below the global average and many face difficult debt management challenges,” he said. The Ministers, he said, have urged the Commonwealth Secretariat to work closely with multilateral financial institutions to develop new instruments for effective crisis response facilities for vulnerable countries and explore appropriate debt relief proposals. In an interview with Sunday Times, John Rwangombwa, Rwanda’s Finance Minister, observed that the meeting also provided an opportunity for dialogue between the five Commonwealth members that are inside the G20 on wider issues concerning the global economy. “We were able to give them messages to table before the G20 (which makes key decisions on global economy) including debt management issues,” he said. With increasing concerns about unbalanced and fragile recovery of the global economy, Rwangombwa underscored the need for cooperation among countries. “We have to find ways of supporting and working together to resolve these issues.” The Finance Ministers also underscored the need for continued effective international macroeconomic policy coordination to support global recovery and stability. They also urged the G20 to pursue broad based consultation when developing global economic and regulatory policies. Regarding trade, the finance ministers stressed the need for G20 countries to avoid protectionism, lower tariffs and conclusion to Doha Round of trade negotiations. Rwanda became the 53rd nation to join the club of nations mainly composed of former British colonies with a population of more than two billion and $2.8 trillion in annual trade. Its main focus is promoting trade, education and good governance among member states. Ends