MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brown claims G20 backed his blueprint for combating crisis

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown claimed Saturday that world leaders had backed his blueprint for combating the global slowdown. He said they had agreed to “fiscal measures” to stimulate the economy - likely to mean increased government spending and cuts in taxes.

PM Brown also welcomed the fact that the leaders had called for a deal on liberalising international trade by the end of the year. Speaking at a press conference after the G20 talks in Washington, Mr Brown said: "There was widespread agreement that at a time like this when the world faces huge uncertainty... that this is the time when you need to support our economies." Asked if that meant the type of fiscal measures he has been suggesting, the PM replied: "There is a clear determination on the part of world leaders in every continent to take the necessary action to move economies out of this difficult period." He said countries would bring forward their measures at "different times" over the coming months. The leaders stressed the importance of ensuring the IMF and World Bank had sufficient funds to fulfil their roles. However, there have been no specific commitments so far from cash-rich Gulf countries, donations which the British PM was campaigning hard for during his recent tour of the region. "This is not about abstract language of communiqués, but about real issues that affect people's daily lives, by the actions we take, savings are saved, people will keep their jobs they will not lose their homes," he said. "These are extraordinary times, they do require extraordinary measures. And as these are global problems they do require global solutions. Working together we can make the transition to an open and transparent form of globalisation."