G20 sets boosting growth as priority for economy
Baku, July 22 (AZERTAC). The G20 on Saturday agreed that boosting growth and jobs is the near-term priority for the global economy as it faces a "fragile and uneven" recovery.
Finance chiefs from the G20 group of advanced and emerging nations also backed an action plan drawn up by the OECD to crack down on tax avoidance by multinationals and help replenish diminished budgets.
Several big nations ahead of the meeting had called for clarity after the US Federal Reserve said it could begin cutting its quantitative easing programme, which injects some $85 billion a month into the economy via bond purchases, later this year and end the programme by mid-2014.
But the statement vowed that any such changes would be made carefully and would be clearly communicated."Future changes to monetary policy settings will continue to be carefully calibrated and clearly communicated.
Key G20 members including the United States had made clear ahead of the meeting that the fight against unemployment should be at the centre of the agenda although other states, like Germany, are known for wanting to keep a strict eye on fiscal discipline.The G20 said they had fully approved the action plan delivered earlier in the two-day meeting by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to clamp down on tax avoidance.
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has already done enough to convince world markets that the Fed`s policy won`t change in a minute and the rest of the world will manage to adapt to a new reality, Bernanke added.
Markets were awaiting Bernanke`s testimony before Congress on July 17. Although it hasn`t clarified the situation, markets reacted positively.
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