World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick
says that the way in which the world tries to solve its economic problems needs
to be rethought amid today's global crisis, including turning the Group of
Seven into a Steering Group that would include South Africa and other emerging
market economies.
Speaking at the Peterson Institute for
International Economics in Washington
DC on Monday, Zoellick said that
the existing multilateral economic system needs a fundamental overhaul to
become one that empowers rising economic states.
"The G-7 is not working. We need a better
group for a different time," said Zoellick.
"For financial and economic cooperation, we should consider a new
Steering Group including Brazil,
China, India, Mexico,
Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the current G-7."
"Such a Steering Group would bring together
over 70 percent of the world's GDP, 56 percent of the world's population, 62
percent of its energy production, the major carbon emitters, the principal
development donors, large regional actors and the primary players in the global
capital, commodity and exchange rate market," he said
Emphasising the necessity of such a
Steering Group within a revised multilateral system better suited to a changing
world economy, Zoellick said "We need this mechanism so that countries are not
left to fail... We need it so that global problems are not just mopped up after
the fact but anticipated. We need it to develop the habit of dialogue and the
necessary relationships of trust before crises hits. We need it to shape
multilateral solutions."
While recognising the value of the G-20
Group of Industrial Nations (of which SA is a member), Zoellick described it as
"too unwieldy in moving from discussion to action."
"We need a core group of Finance Ministers
who will assume responsibility for anticipating issues, sharing information and
insights, exploring mutual interests, mobilising efforts to solve problems and
managing differences," he added.
Zoellick also said that the International
Monetary Fund, the World Bank and possibly the World Trade Organisation would
help support this group.
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