Statement of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
Boca Raton, Florida
February 7, 2004
The global economic recovery has strengthened significantly since our meeting in Dubai and risks have diminished. Growth projections for 2004 have been revised upward to their highest in three years. Fiscal and monetary policies have helped bring about these welcome changes.
Yet much more remains to be done. The pace of growth among our economies remains uneven. In our Agenda for Growth initiative, we emphasize supply-side structural policies that increase flexibility and raise productivity growth and employment. Today we released a progress report on our Agenda for Growth. This agenda and sound fiscal policies over the medium term are key to addressing global current account imbalances. We outlined strategies for sustained medium-term fiscal consolidation as economies recover. International trade is vital; we call for further efforts and for countries to take the steps to resume the Doha round, which is pivotal to global growth and the alleviation of world poverty.
We reaffirm that exchange rates should reflect economic fundamentals. Excess volatility and disorderly movements in exchange rates are undesirable for economic growth. We continue to monitor exchange markets closely and cooperate as appropriate. In this context, we emphasize that more flexibility in exchange rates is desirable for major countries or economic areas that lack such flexibility to promote smooth and widespread adjustments in the international financial system, based on market mechanisms.
To combat terrorist financing, we urge all countries to strengthen their asset freezing regimes and to combat abuse of the informal financial sector and non-profit organizations. The IMF/World Bank should make permanent and comprehensive their assessments of countries' efforts to combat terrorism.
We are committed to further enhance transparency and supervisory standards in financial markets, in particular non-compliant off-shore centers.
We have a shared interest in seeing strengthened economic growth in the greater Middle East. We had a productive meeting with our counterparts from Afghanistan and Iraq. We welcome the completion of the currency exchange in Iraq and the removal of interest rate controls, and we look forward to the approval of the new central bank law. We welcome progress on reform and reconstruction in Afghanistan and the renewed efforts to collect revenues from the provinces. We call on others to join us in reducing the debt burdens of Iraq and Afghanistan. We welcome the plans of the IMF and the World Bank to provide financial and technical assistance to Iraq and Afghanistan.
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