The Group of 20's work in pulling the global economy out of crisis is not yet finished, and more must be done to plug gaps in financial regulation, dpa quoted the heads of five major industrial powers in the bloc as warning today. In a joint statement, the leaders of the United States, Canada, France, Britain and South Korea urged world governments to improve cooperation on economic policy and agree on major financial sector reforms by the end of this year. The G20 bloc of leading industrial and emerging economic powers was anointed the premier forum for addressing economic issues during a summit in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in September. The group's next summit will be held in Toronto in June. "Our task is not yet complete. The nascent recovery in the world economy remains fragile," read the statement from Presidents Barack Obama of the US, Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Lee Myung-Bak of South Korea and Prime Ministers Gordon Brown of Britain and Stephen Harper of Canada. Cooperation among the world's major powers was partly credited with bringing an end to the world's worst recession since World War II, though many wealthy economies are still suffering from sluggish growth and high unemployment. The leaders warned that the G20 was still tasked with "addressing new and emerging risks, safeguarding stability, and supporting a robust return to growth and job creation in all of our economies."
