G-20 summit eyes tighter control, fiscal coordination: British minister+

TOKYO, March 17 Kyodo - The upcoming global financial summit slated for April 2 in London will likely call for greater financial regulations and more coordinated efforts among major economies in carrying out fiscal stimulus steps, so that the world can cope
better with the current economic crisis, a British minister said Tuesday.

Bill Rammell, minister of state for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, also told
reporters that leaders of the Group of 20 major industrialized and emerging
economies will make a strong commitment to resist protectionism, which would
exacerbate the economic situations.
Rammell noted that G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors agreed
during a weekend meeting in southern England to ''take whatever action is
necessary'' to tackle the problem and that the summit is expected to ''restore
faith in globalization'' as some critics say the excesses in the globalized
economy led to the current crisis.
The minister said fiscal responses ''will be certainly one of the key aspects''
of the summit. ''There needs to be as much coordination as possible of fiscal
responses by way of tax reductions, by way of reductions in interest rates,''
he said, adding that those steps would encourage banks to extend loans and
consumers to spend, helping kick start the economy.
The minister denied there are rifts between the United States and continental
European economies over the scope of financial regulations. ''I am convinced
that there is a much greater degree of unity internationally...I don't detect
that division,'' he said.
He appreciated Japan's provision of $100 billion in loans to the International
Monetary Fund, as it will increase the Washington-based lender's resources and
assist ''the most helpless countries'' hit hard by the ongoing economic crisis.
==Kyodo