The global economy is recovering faster than expected, but the latest financial volatility underscores the need for sounder fiscal health amid euro zone jitters, Group of 20 finance ministers said Saturday, 'Yonhap' news Agency reported In a communiqué issued after a two-day meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs, they said one of G20's top priorities is to attain strong, sustainable and balanced growth and pledged to work together to deal with challenges and support the recovery. The global economy continues to recover faster than anticipated, although at an uneven pace across countries and regions," the statement said. "However, the recent volatility in financial markets reminds us that significant challenges remain and underscores the importance of international cooperation." "The recent events highlight the importance of sustainable public finances and the need for our countries to put in place credible, growth-friendly measures, to deliver fiscal sustainability, differentiated for and tailored to national circumstances," it added. The G20 financial leaders welcomed European policymakers' "determined" action in response to debt problems in the euro zone including Greece, Portugal and Spain, but called for those countries to make more efforts to improve their fiscal soundness. "Building on progress to date, we affirmed our commitment to intensify our efforts and to accelerate financial repair and reform. Therefore, we agreed further progress on financial repair is critical to the global economic recovery," they said. "This requires greater transparency and further strengthening of banks' balance sheets and better corporate governance of financial firms," they added. "We are committed to reaching an agreement expeditiously, with stronger capital and liquidity standards as the core of our reform agenda." The finance ministers, meanwhile, renewed commitment on the framework for a strong, sustainable and balanced growth. "The framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth is a key mechanism by which we will work together to meet the immediate challenges of supporting the global recovery and achieving our medium-term shared framework objectives," they noted.
