rich Gulf Arab countries with big cash reserves are being urged to stump up the cash needed to help the United States and countries requiring IMF aid weather the ongoing turbulence on the international financial markets. US Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt, currently visiting the region, Tuesday called on the Gulf countries to continue investing in the United States to help restore financial stability. “We're looking for sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) to continue their over five-decade track record of investing on sound commercial bases,” Kimmitt said in Dubai during a visit to the United Arab Emirates, his second stop on a five-nation tour of Gulf countries and Iraq. In London, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Tuesday the International Monetary Fund needs more money to deal with the fallout from a global financial crisis and called on the Gulf states and China to make the cash available. “The IMF has said it has $250 billion available, and new instruments, to lend to countries in crisis, but this may not be enough,” Brown told reporters in London on Tuesday “We will consider the necessary reforms to the International Monetary Fund in the weeks ahead,” Brown said. World leaders are holding a summit in Washington on Nov. 15 to discuss ways of reforming the global financial system. Brown said countries with “substantial reserves” could do much to contribute to the fund. Brown will visit the Gulf at the weekend and this would be one of the items on the agenda, he told reporters. He said he would also be speaking to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao “in the next day or two. “We now need substantial additional reserves and we want to draw reserves from countries that have substantial reserves,” Brown said. “China also has very substantial reserves,” he added. On Friday, the IMF unveiled a $2.1 billion package for Iceland. That was followed on Sunday by an agreement in principle for a $16.5 billion deal with Ukraine and an economic rescue package for Hungary, which promises to include substantial funding from both the IMF and the European Union. Brown did not rule out Britain contributing to the fund but stressed it was countries with the biggest reserves who could do most.
