Asian ministers uphold free markets
23-02-2009
Asian finance ministers have pledged to uphold free trade and investment in the midst of the global economic slowdown. At a meeting in Thailand they also said they would allocate an additional US$40 billion to protect falling currencies. The ministers from 10 Southeast Asian nations as well as China, Japan and South Korea agreed to boost funding for the Chiang Mai Initiative - an arrangement forged after the 1997 Asian financial crisis to address foreign reserve deficits through bilateral currency swaps - from $80 billion to $120 billion. The 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will provide 20 percent of funding, with 80 percent from China, Japan and South Korea. The plan is expected to be approved at an ASEAN summit in Hua Hin, Thailand, from February 27 to March 1. "We reaffirm our determination to dedicate ourselves to increasing the free flow of trade and investment, to standing firm against protectionist measures which would worsen the economic downturn," the ministers said in a statement.
