IMF chief urges fiscal stimulus worth 2% of global GDP to tackle crisis+

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 Kyodo -
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on
Saturday urged countries to take fiscal stimulus measures worth at least 2
percent of world gross domestic product in a concerted bid to weather the
financial turbulence around the globe.

While welcoming the measures to boost their economies taken by many countries,
mainly centering on monetary-easing, he said at a news conference after a Group
of 20 summit that they are insufficient to overcome the crisis and put the
global economy back onto a recovery track.
''So we have been advocating for weeks now -- and for myself for months -- that
fiscal policy has to be used,'' he said, citing the need for fiscal stimulus of
''at least 2 percent'' of global GDP to be implemented in a well-orchestrated
manner.
Strauss-Kahn also thanked Japan for its avowed contribution of up to $100
billion to the IMF's war chest to allow the Washington-based lender to continue
lending to needy nations.
''Our resources are probably adequate today, but may be insufficient in six
months from now,'' he said. ''Some members today already say they're going to
consider the same kind of course'' as Japan.
During the two-day G-20 summit, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso unveiled the
massive contribution to the IMF and proposed the IMF's capital base should be
doubled from the current $320 billion to help it support emerging and small
economies amid the financial crisis.
Separately, World Bank President Robert Zoellick lauded the G-20 leaders for
uniting against the crisis but warned that the crisis will not be solved if
poorer countries are ''left out in the cold.''
''This summit of G20 leaders and the G20 meeting of finance ministers last
weekend have begun to lay a productive foundation of discussion, input, and
agreement,'' he said in a statement.
''But the poorest developing countries must not be left out in the cold. We
will not solve this crisis, or put in place sustainable long-term solutions by
accepting a two-tier world,'' Zoellick said. ''If we are going to avert a human
crisis, we will have to do more.''
The G-20 consists of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations --
Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States -- plus
major rising economic powers such as Brazil, China and India.
Strauss-Kahn and Zoellick also attended the summit along with U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon and Mario Draghi, head of the Financial Stability Forum, a
panel that primarily advises major developed countries.
==Kyodo