    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2001, Book II)]
    [July 20, 2001]
    [Pages 880-883]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    G7 Statement--Genova
    July 20, 2001

        1. We, the Heads of State and Government of the G7 countries and the
    Representatives of the European Union, met today in Genova to address
    current challenges in world macroeconomic trends and to bolster efforts
    aimed at promoting growth and stability, and at improving the efficiency
    of the international financial system.

    World Economy

        2. While the global economy has slowed more than expected over the
    past year, sound economic policies and fundamentals provide a solid
    foundation for stronger growth. We will remain vigilant and forward
    looking in implementing measures, as necessary, to ensure that our
    economies move towards a more sustained pattern of growth, in line with
    their potential. We pledge to pursue policies that will contribute to
    global growth by enhancing strong productivity growth in a sound
    macroeconomic environment, through structural reform, free trade and
    strengthened international economic co-operation.

         In the United States, while growth has slowed sharply,
                long-term trends remain favourable. Markets are dynamic and
                flexible, and both monetary and fiscal policies are being
                actively employed to support recovery, while maintaining
                price stability. The recently enacted tax cuts should
                bolster growth.
         In Canada, tax cuts and monetary conditions are supporting
                growth while structural policies should continue to be aimed
                at increasing productivity. In the United Kingdom, where the
                slowdown appears moderate, policies should continue to
                strengthen the foundations for sustained growth and
                employment over the medium term, and meet the inflation
                target.
         In the euro area, although economic activity has weakened,
                growth prospects remain favourable. Tax cuts, as well as
                structural reforms aimed at further increasing employment,
                should continue to support sustainable non-inflationary
                growth. The steady implementation of economic reforms will
                contribute to further raising the potential for growth.
         In Japan, economic activity has further weakened, and
                prices continue to decline. Against this background,
                monetary policy should keep providing ample liquidity.
                Vigorous implementation of financial and corporate sector
                reforms is needed to lay the foundation for stronger
                economic growth over the medium term. We welcome the
                recently announced reform initiatives, which will contribute
                to this end.

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        3. Emerging market economies are unevenly affected by global
    economic developments. Growth rates in some countries have slowed
    towards a more sustainable rate, while in others they have decelerated
    sharply. We welcome the progress achieved in many countries in
    increasing their resilience against potential crises and the steps taken
    over the last year to strengthen the international financial system to
    better prevent crises. However, recent developments in emerging markets
    point to the need for further progress in reinforcing domestic financial
    systems and the underlying fiscal positions. Recent measures taken in
    Argentina and Turkey represent positive steps in this direction. We
    commend these efforts and encourage the continued implementation of
    their reform programs in close collaboration with the IMF and other
    relevant international financial institutions.
        4. High and volatile oil prices are a concern for the world economy,
    in particular for the most vulnerable developing countries. Increased
    and diversified energy supplies, improved energy efficiency, expanded
    infrastructure and stable oil markets are important objectives. Oil
    producing and oil consuming countries should remain in close contact.
        5. In addition to the policies we are pursuing in our own economies,
    we agreed today that co-operation on three further elements is important
    to a strengthened global economy:

         the launch of a new trade Round;
         action to enhance the stability and integrity of the
                international financial system;
         actions to ensure that the poorest countries are not left
                behind, including the implementation of the Heavily Indebted
                Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative.

    Launching a New Trade Round

        6. Sustained economic growth world-wide requires a renewed
    commitment to free trade. Opening markets globally and strengthening the
    World Trade Organisation (WTO) as the bedrock of the multilateral
    trading system is therefore an economic imperative. It is for this
    reason that we pledge today to engage personally and jointly in the
    launch of a new ambitious Round of global trade negotiations at the
    Fourth WTO Ministerial Conference in Doha, Qatar this November.
        7. We are committed to working with developing countries, including
    the least developed, to ensure that the new Round addresses their
    priorities through improved market access and sounder, more transparent
    trade rules. We recognise that there are legitimate concerns in
    implementing the Uruguay Round Agreements. We welcome the steady
    progress made so far on implementation issues and are ready to examine
    ways to make further progress in connection with the launch of a new
    Round. Capacity building is essential to integrate developing countries
    into the trading system, and we are intensifying our efforts to assist
    in this area, including with international institutions.
        8. In the interests of all, the new Round should be based on a
    balanced agenda, while clarifying, strengthening and extending
    multilateral rules. An improved dispute settlement mechanism is central
    to this effort. Increased transparency in the WTO itself is also
    important to strengthen confidence in the global trading system. The WTO
    should continue to respond to the legitimate expectations of civil
    society, and ensure that the new Round supports sustainable development.
        9. We recognise the importance of expanding WTO membership on
    meaningful economic terms. We welcome the fact that negotiations with
    China are now almost completed and that progress is being made towards
    Russia's accession. We shall strongly support other applicants in their
    efforts to meet the conditions for an early membership, with a view to
    making the WTO a truly universal organisation.

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    Strengthening the International Financial System

        10. Increasing global growth and prosperity depends crucially on a
    sound and stable international financial system. We are united in our
    determination to continue to strengthen it to prevent financial crises,
    to limit the impact of those that inevitably do occur, and to tackle
    financial abuses.
        11. Since the Okinawa Summit a number of important steps have been
    taken, including: measures to increase the effectiveness of crisis
    prevention by reinforcing the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
    surveillance and encouraging the implementation of the key international
    codes and standards; involving the private sector in crisis prevention
    and resolution; streamlining and reforming IMF lending facilities; and
    enhancing IMF transparency and accountability. These efforts should be
    maintained.
        12. Looking forward, we endorse our Finance Ministers'
    recommendations for action to further strengthen the international
    financial system and their commitment to foster international consensus
    in this endeavour. In particular, the international financial
    institutions and the G7 countries should stand ready to help countries
    adopt the policies required to ensure sustained access to capital
    markets. We also support our Finance Ministers' suggestions to further
    develop the framework for private sector involvement.
        13. The Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have a central role to
    play in combating poverty by promoting productivity growth and
    supporting equitable and sustainable economic development, thus
    contributing to the achievement of the 2015 International Development
    Goals. To this end, we welcome and endorse our Finance Ministers'
    recommendations for reforming the MDBs and sharpening their focus on
    core social and human investments, in particular health and education.
    We encourage the MDBs to continue to evaluate their internal structure
    in order to enhance their operational effectiveness. We attach
    particular importance to:

         strengthening co-ordination among MDBs;
         enhancing their internal governance, accountability and
                transparency;
         reviewing their pricing policies with a view to enhancing
                the development impact of the resources available;
         promoting good governance in borrowing countries.

        We call on MDBs to provide support for global public goods, such as
    fighting infectious diseases, facilitating trade, fostering financial
    stability and protecting the environment. We support a meaningful
    replenishment of IDA and, in that context, we will explore the increased
    use of grants for priority social investments, such as education and
    health.
        14. We reaffirm our support for the multilateral effort against
    abuses of the global financial system and endorse our Finance Ministers'
    recommendations to address this challenge. We welcome the efforts
    several jurisdictions are making to address weaknesses in their anti
    money laundering regimes. We endorse the recent Financial Action Task
    Force decisions de-listing four jurisdictions and recommending the
    adoption of additional counter-measures against the most uncooperative
    ones if they do not take appropriate action by September 30, 2001. The
    International Financial Institutions have an important role in helping
    jurisdictions improve their anti money laundering regimes and we urge
    them to step up their efforts in this regard. We encourage progress in
    assessing adherence to supervisory and regulatory standards in Offshore
    Financial Centres. We look forward to the 2001 OECD progress report on
    harmful tax practices and support the work, as envisaged by our Finance
    Ministers, aimed at addressing such practices. We ask our Finance
    Ministers for further work in these areas.

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    HIPC

        15. The Enhanced HIPC Initiative we launched in Cologne aims to
    increase growth, reduce poverty and provide a lasting exit from
    unsustainable debt, by reducing debt on the basis of strengthened policy
    reforms. We welcome the important progress that has been achieved in
    implementing the Initiative. At Okinawa nine countries had qualified for
    debt relief. Now, twenty-three countries (Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso,
    Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Honduras,
    Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger,
    Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia) are
    benefiting from the Initiative, with an overall amount of debt relief of
    over $53 billion, out of an initial stock of debt of $74 billion. This
    will significantly reduce their debt service, thus freeing resources for
    social sector expenditure, in particular education and health.
        16. We have all agreed as a minimum to provide 100% debt reduction
    of official development assistance (ODA) and eligible commercial claims
    for qualifying HIPC countries. We urge those countries that have not
    already done so to take similar steps, and we underline the need for the
    active and full participation of all bilateral creditors in providing
    timely debt relief to HIPCs.
        17. We encourage HIPCs that have not yet reached their decision
    point to quickly undertake the necessary economic and social reforms,
    including the development of a strategy for overall poverty reduction in
    co-operation with the World Bank and the IMF. Economic, structural, and
    social reforms, improved governance, and a strengthened ability to track
    poverty-reducing expenditures are necessary to ensure the maximum
    benefit of debt relief. In particular, we call upon those countries
    involved in military conflicts to lay down their arms, and implement the
    necessary reforms. We confirm our willingness to help them take measures
    needed to come forward to debt relief. We pledge to continue working
    together to ensure that the benefits of debt relief are targeted to
    assist the poor and most vulnerable.

    Nuclear Safety

        18. We welcome Ukraine's permanent closure of the Chernobyl Nuclear
    Power Plant on 15 December 2000, which was a vital accomplishment in
    support of nuclear safety.

    Note: An original was not available for verification of the content of
    this joint statement.