|
Clinton calls for reform
|
 |
October 6, 1998: 12:03 p.m. ET
President says the time has come to modernize the global financial system
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - President Clinton said Tuesday the time has come to reform the international financial system in order to stem the current global economic crisis.
Addressing the International Monetary Fund at its annual meeting with the World Bank in Washington, Clinton said he has asked the world's financial leaders to find a way to "tame the cycles of boom and bust that shake the world economy."
"We must modernize and reform the international financial system to make it ready for the 21st century," he said. "The global economy simply cannot live with the kinds of vast and systemic disruptions that have occurred in the past year."
Though Clinton didn't outline specific proposals in his address, he noted that Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan met with representatives from the Group of Seven industrialized nations over the weekend to make precautionary lines of credit available to nations that have been burdened by the current global crisis.
"This is a critical way to prevent the present crisis from reaching Latin America and other regions which are doing well, and I ask your support," he said.
But Clinton also stressed that individual nations must take steps to control their own financial systems before the international community can take steps to provide assistance. In particular, Clinton called on Japan to "take strong steps" to get its economic situation under control.
"The health of Asia and the world depends upon Japan," he said. 
|
|
|
|
|
|
IMF
|
Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
External sites are not endorsed by CNNmoney
|
|
|
|
 |
|
