Aso envoys seek Indonesia's cooperation before summit

JAKARTA, Nov. 10 Kyodo - Two special envoys of Prime Minister Taro Aso called Monday for Indonesia's cooperation in forging a common platform for reform of the existing international financial system, ahead of a key global financial summit scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Washington.

Former Vice Finance Minister for International Affairs Toyoo Gyohten and Former
Vice Foreign Minister Yoshiji Nogami said they handed a letter from Aso to
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in which the premier advocated a
review of the management and supervisory system for financial institutions.
Yudhoyono pointed to the need to strengthen the functioning of the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and called for reform of the
multilateral institutions so that they can be managed through the cooperation
of all their member economies, according to the envoys.
In Tokyo, Aso told reporters he hopes the IMF will ''make utmost efforts to
create an environment'' in which emerging economies can accelerate their
growth.
The prime minister also underlined the importance of building a proper system
to settle financial transactions to help support developing nations' economic
growth.
Gyohten and Nogami visited Seoul on Thursday and presented a similar letter
from Aso to South Korean President Lee Myung Bak.
The two were appointed as emissaries and economic advisers by Aso last Tuesday
and have since been traveling to Asian countries to coordinate regional views
before the financial summit, which will bring together the leaders of 20 major
developed and emerging economies.
The G-20 groups industrialized economies -- Australia, Britain, Canada, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United States and the European Union -- and
emerging economies -- Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, South Korea,
Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Turkey.
Earlier in the day in Tokyo, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura
hailed an accord reached by G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors
in Sao Paulo under which the economies will implement all available measures
for stable and sustainable growth, and aim to reform the existing financial
regulatory framework.
The discussion at the G-20 meeting in Brazil over the weekend was ''a
significant step'' toward the summit to be hosted by U.S. President George W.
Bush, Kawamura said, adding that cooperation between industrialized and
emerging economies is ''extremely important.''
Vice Finance Minister Kazuyuki Sugimoto said at a press conference that the
G-20 financial chiefs noted in their joint statement the importance of stimulus
measures to spur their economies. He pledged that Tokyo will implement a
recently compiled additional economic package worth 26.9 trillion yen.