FRANCE: France seeks G20 deal on imbalances Economy Minister Christine Lagarde says no deal is no drama

Record ID: 739166

  • Title: FRANCE: France seeks G20 deal on imbalances Economy Minister Christine Lagarde says no deal is no drama
  • Date: 15th February 2011
  • Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (FEBRUARY 14, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF NEWS CONFERENCE VENUE (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) VARIOUS OF FRENCH ECONOMY MINISTER CHRISTINE LAGARDE STANDING FOR PHOTOGRAPHS WIDE VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE PHOTOGRAPHERS LAGARDE AND DIRECTOR OF THE BANK OF FRANCE CHRISTIAN NOYER JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH ECONOMY MINISTER CHRISTINE LAGARDE SAYING: "Regarding the first topic, one of the framework for a strong, balanced and sustainable growth, for which Mr. Governor and I have already detailed the difficulties, the relevance and the common denominators -- on this topic our hope is to reach an agreement on indicators on next Saturday. If we don't achieve this, it won't be a drama, we will simply have to try again to reach our goal. But our approach will be the same: a common diagnosis, the identification of solutions, and attempts to cooperate." NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (French) FRENCH ECONOMY MINISTER CHRISTINE LAGARDE SAYING: "France will carry out its commitments and is a pioneer in this field as France supports financially the activity of the Stolen Assets Recovery. We are ready to aid Egyptian justice just as we were and are ready to aid Tunisian justice too." JOURNALISTS G20 FRANCE 2011 LOGO (SOUNDBITE) (English) FRENCH ECONOMY MINISTER CHRISTINE LAGARDE SAYING: "It's number one to legitimize the G20 with a view to providing the conditions for solid balanced and sustainable growth. This is the overarching objective that we have. We have seen many imbalances, many factors of instability and volatility and we want to reduce those so that everybody takes the benefit of it. No distraction of value as we saw it in 2008 and 2009, no massive unemployment as we saw it lately, and a growth that is both strong, balanced and sustainable." JOURNALISTS VARIOUS OF LAGARDE AND NOYER STANDING IN FRONT OF FRENCH LOGO FOR THE G20 PRESIDENCY.
  • Embargoed: 2nd March 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: France, France
  • Country: France
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVANN17DNZ6DZFQKAH644UZLGJO
  • Story Text: France played down hopes on Monday (February 14) of clinching a deal at a meeting of G20 finance ministers this week on which indicators should be used to measure global economic imbalances, but said that remained its goal.
    A G20 summit in Seoul last year mandated France's presidency to reach agreement in the first half of 2011 on a list of "indicative guidelines" for quantifying imbalances to prevent a repeat of the global economic crisis. Agreeing on a list will be the focus of this week's meeting in Paris.
    Disagreement has persisted between rich and developing nations over which indicators to select, with G20 officials saying China in particular is resisting pressure from developed nations to include factors like real effective exchange rates and the level of foreign assets.
    "On this topic our hope is to reach an agreement on indicators on next Saturday. If we don't achieve this, it won't be a drama, we will simply have to try again to reach our goal. But our approach will be the same : a common diagnosis, the identification of solutions, and attempts to cooperate," Lagarde said at a news conference.
    She added that the meeting on Friday and Saturday in Paris would also work on agreeing on norms to govern the accumulation of international reserves.
    Lagarde said that France was ready to aid the Egyptian justice authorities where assets of both former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali were concerned.
    "France will carry out its commitments and is a pioneer in this field as France supports financially the activity of the Stolen Assets Recovery. We are ready to aid Egyptian justice just as we are ready to aid Tunisian justice too", she said.
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