BERLIN (MNI) – The following is the first part of a verbatim text
of a joint press release by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, OECD
Secretary-General Angel Gurria, WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, ILO
Director-General Juan Somavia, IMF Managing Director Dominique
Strauss-Kahn and World Bank President Robert Zoellick:

International policymakers have countered the global economic
crisis with determined and coordinated action. Thanks to these efforts
the global economy has now returned to a growth track, even if the
crisis is not yet over and unemployment continues to be high.

Therefore, we have to continue major international efforts with the
aim of ensuring a lasting recovery in the financial sector and
strengthening growth in the long term, and to address the impact of the
crisis on poor countries and vulnerable populations.

With regard to development in the longer run, industrial and
emerging economies are working intensively along with international
organizations within the G20 summit process to reorient the global
financial architecture, create conditions for more balanced and
sustainable growth and develop suitable exit strategies.

While the G20 has established itself as the premier forum for
international economic cooperation, it remains important to cooperate
within diverse networks consisting of national governments,
international organizations and other stakeholders to reach common
goals.

We welcome that our five international organizations have
strengthened their cooperation during the crisis: In the context of the
G20 we have increased our cooperation with joint work on labour (OECD,
ILO), on trade and investment (WTO, OECD, UNCTAD) and on fossil fuels
(WB, OECD, IEA, OPEC).

We will continue to do so in support of a more sustainable and
fairer economy, especially in the following six fields of action:

1. We welcome the progress achieved so far in countering the
crisis, including the extraordinary collaborative fiscal stimulus
policies, especially within the framework of the G20 summit process.

Now it is important to continue effectively implementing the work
programme formulated at the Pittsburgh summit and to pass key joint
measures for strengthening the international financial architecture,
reducing global imbalances and designing exit strategies.

Ensuring cross-country consistency is critical, as is recognized in
the G20s Mutual Assessment Process and in international discussions of
financial sector reform and taxation. We welcome the ongoing work within
the G20 and the IMF on options to improve the global financial safety
net based on sound incentives.

2. These endeavours have to be accompanied by policy measures to
strengthen employment and to address the social consequences of the
crisis, building on the Global Jobs Pact approach adopted at the ILO
International Labour Conference of 2009.

We welcome the outcomes of the most recent G20 Labour Ministers
meeting, which we regard as a significant contribution to the creation
of new jobs and the reinforcement of social protection.We also welcome
the emphasis in the G20 process on the needs of poor countries and
vulnerable populations and stress the importance of continued strong and
coordinated international support.

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