IMF: UK Darling: Main Focus Now On G20, But G7 Not Defunct

ISTANBUL -(Dow Jones)- U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said Sunday that the main focus of attention for international decision-making is likely to be on the Group of 20 industrial and developing countries for some time to come.

Speaking on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Istanbul, Darling also defended the Group of Seven leading industrial nations as a useful forum for the discussion of issues of mutual concern.

The G20 was endorsed at last month's meeting of heads of government in Pittsburgh as the new premier global forum.

"I think there is a feeling amongst my [international] colleagues that the main center of attention and the main focus will be on the G20 for some time to come," Darling said. "Even people who are not part of the G20 have commented favorably on the fact that it's been possible to reach political decisions on a timescale that is not common to international institutions."

But Darling also reiterated that the G7 isn't defunct.

"I think there is still value in meetings amongst the seven largest countries. We've a lot in common, we've a lot of issues that we need to tackle together," Darling said. "But I think our belief is that it might be better to meet more informally, perhaps with less of an entourage, so we can have more detailed discussions, perhaps more informal and I think more business-like."

He pointed to the pledge of $4 billion in new financing for low-income countries by the U.K. and France, announced Saturday, as an example of the sort of thing that you don't need a summit to achieve.

"I think you won't see anything dramatic, but I think that's quite clearly where people are going," Darling said.

-By Natasha Brereton, Dow Jones Newswires; +44-20-7842-9254; natasha.brereton@dowjones.com

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October 04, 2009 07:12 ET (11:12 GMT)


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