The Ministers and Governors reaffirm the commitment made by their Heads of State and Government at the Munich Summit to strengthen world growth without rekindling inflation. Since then, measures to reinforce economic recovery have been taken, including interest rate reduction in a number of countries, as well as the recent announcement of the Japanese stimulus package. These measures will strengthen the global economic recovery and foster greater stability of exchange markets.

Ministers and Governors expressed concern about the recent volatility in world financial markets. They agreed on the importance of restoring stable and long-lasting exchange rate relationships. The Ministers and Governors will continue to cooperate and to monitor closely economic and financial conditions in their countries and will take appropriate additional actions as needed to achieve sustained growth and greater currency stability.

The Ministers and Governors also met with representatives of the Russian Federation and discussed Russia's reform program. They urged Russia to intensify its efforts to implement comprehensive economic reform. They also urged the World Bank to form a technical assistance support group for Russia to discuss bilateral and multilateral technical assistance.

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Source: Canada Department of Finance.