Regional economists and officials meet in Dominican Republic
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| Published on Tuesday, November 25, 2008 |
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SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic: Economists, government officials from the region and high-ranking representatives of regional and international organizations gathered in the Dominican Republic this weekend to discuss the causes and challenges of the current global financial crisis.
The regional seminar The emerging global financial order: A regional perspective, held November 22-23, was convened by Dominican President Leonel Fernández, with the collaboration of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and support from the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB) and the Organization of American States (OAS).
During the inaugural session, ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena, called for action and on countries in the region to make the most of the world economic crisis and consider it an opportunity to do things differently, with a Latin American and Caribbean identity.
“Today, we have this opportunity and it is our duty to make the most of it. The G-20 meeting last week and the participation in it of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico was a historic event, an opportunity for the voices in the region to be heard, and take hold of destiny,” she stated.
There is a need for a serious and profound process of reshaping the international financial system to adapt it to the new requirements of the global economy, she said. Reforming the system should aim in three directions: legitimacy, credibility and efficiency.
In addition to strengthening the capacity of providing liquidity to emerging economies in order to support their needs for external financing and their balance of payments, said Ms Bárcena, efforts must be made to facilitate global financing to support emerging and less developed countries in the implementation of counter-cyclical fiscal policies, focused primarily in protecting social spending, public investment and investment in infrastructure.
She also called on nations to avoid protectionist positions in trade, protect social spending, and invest in infrastructure to generate employment, but take care of the environment, and demand solidarity for the most vulnerable from developed countries with the same magnitude, priority and urgency with which those countries rushed to rescue the financial system.
“As one sole region, as one sole race, we can face these monumental challenges and make the voice of Latin America and the Caribbean prevail in the concert of nations,” she stated.
In his welcoming words to seminar participants, Dominican President Leonel Fernández alerted that if a “tourniquet” is not put soon on the international financial crisis, the current economic recession could eventually threaten the political stability and the democratic governance of nations.
The global financial situation is not a problem exclusively of the G-20. “It is a problem that involves the G-192; that is, all member countries of the United Nations,” he stated.
The keynote speakers in the first day of the seminar were George Soros, President of Soros Fund Management and Chairman of the Open Society Institute; Joseph Stiglitz, professor of Columbia University and Nobel Prize Laureate in Economics 2001; and Nicolás Eyzaguirre, Director of the Western Hemisphere Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The three provided a critical diagnosis of the causes of the current crisis and presented their views on the steps world leaders should take to address the challenges to come and restore confidence in world markets.
They also coincided on the need to establish a global regulatory mechanism for financial flows so as to avoid speculation and market bubbles that may burst, with costly consequences. Referring specifically to Latin America and the Caribbean, they stressed the opportunity to implement counter-cyclical economic reforms so the region can be better positioned to face similar turbulence in the future.
The first day of the seminar concluded with a general debate moderated by the President of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, with comments from special guests Michael Masters, Consultant of Masters Capital Management, and Michael Greenberger, Professor of the University of Maryland Law School. | | | | Reads : 1123 | | | |
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