G-20 playing an effective role: Pranab Mukherjee

Washington, June 28: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday said the G-20 is playing a significant role not only in the revival of the world economy, but also in jointly addressing the common problems being faced by the world, such as money laundering or sustainable growth.

"We do recognise without taking into account development component, merely addressing the current crisis by proving finances and resources would not be possible unless development is taken into (account) as an important ingredient in the decision-making process of the G-20, which has been recognised in the Seoul summit," he said.

The free and frank discussion which takes place at G-20 meetings is another important aspect of the G-20, he said.

"In most of the issues, we arrive at a consensus and no decision is taken by votes or by division. This practice should be encouraged in all other forums," Mukherjee said.

It is because of the effective leadership and intervention of the G-20 that FATA has taken successful steps to unearth black money and to prevent money laundering and to counter terror finance, he observed.

"I think G-20 is doing well and we should encourage it to play more effective role in the coming years, unless we achieve sustainable growth," he added.

"G-20 is doing a great job," US Treasury Secretary Geithner agreed. "One thing we have done in the last two years is to build a consensus on reforms of the governing structures of international financial institutions, more balanced, more legitimate," he said.

"We all recognise that for there to be better economic apparatus for the world as a whole, we have to find a way for countries to work together more carefully to make sure they take into consideration the external effects in their policies in making judgments together," Geithner said.

PTI