[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.


[[Page 881]]


    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.

[[Page 882]]

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.

[[Page 883]]

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.