Francophonie Summit Fails To Adopt resolutions on Lebanon

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Beirut, 19 Oct 08, 14:22

The United Nations should host financial crisis talks proposed by
French President Nicolas Sarkozy to reinforce the need for a
multilateral fix, UN chief Ban Ki-Moon said. As sources disclosed that
resolutions on Lebanon and Georgia meanwhile were stuck, and unlikely
to pass by the 12th Francophonie summit.

Holding talks at the UN secretariat in New York, he said, would "lend
universal legitimacy to this endeavor and demonstrate a collective will
to face this serious global challenge."
The secretary general met with Sarkozy at the 12th Francophonie summit,
where the French president pressed for a meeting of the Group of Eight
(G8) industrialized nations, and others, to mull an overhaul of the
global financial system.

A senior Bush administration official said in turn the US president
would prefer to host the talks himself in the United States, where the
global crisis started with a collapse of the US subprime mortgage
market.

The official however did not specify a date for the gathering.

The Francophonie, its agenda seized by the financial crisis, was
expected on Sunday to call for an "urgent and coordinated" response to
the meltdown, according to a draft common statement seen by AFP.

The grouping of 55 French-speaking nations is the first to hold a
north-south forum since the financial meltdown, offering the prospect
of assessing its impact on poorest nations.

"It’s strongly paradoxal that the developing world has not yet been
truly touched by the crisis. But they are also clearly, extremely
worried," said a senior aide to Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Sarkozy and Harper urged Friday at the start of the three-day
Francophonie summit for crisis talks by year’s end.

"We both agree that there is no time to lose, and therefore, I fully
subscribe to your idea of convening such a forum in early December at
the latest," Ban said in a letter to Sarkozy.

The UN chief offered "strong support" for holding "an expanded,
emergency G8 summit to address this urgent problem, and also to include
the participation of the secretary general of the United Nations, as
well as the heads of the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund."

"Such a format will allow us to more effectively act upon a crisis
which requires a global solution through cohesive international
partnership," he said.

Sarkozy, whose country holds the revolving presidency of the European
Union, urged a revamping of the world’s financial system. He insisted
on "ambitious and pragmatic solutions" to current hardships.

And he said talks must at least include Group of Seven industrialized
nations (G7) and Russia, and preferably also China, India, South
Africa, Mexico, Brazil and "an Arab country," likely Egypt, to succeed.

Later, Bush was hosting Sarkozy and European Commission chief Jose
Manuel Barroso at his Maryland retreat to discuss plans for coping with
the most severe global financial turmoil since the 1929 market collapse
that ushered in the Great Depression.

Bush has conceded a need for reforms, but in a speech in Washington on
Friday also warned against possible "undesirable consequences" of new
regulations on the economy.

Harper’s spokesman urged "caution to avoid worsening the crisis."

"We need to reflect on the stakes, how we arrived here, who is
responsible, and what happened," Sarkozy told some 2,000 delegates of
the Francophonie Friday. "And we must draw lessons from it."

"The world must change," he said.

Ban said a solution must also not derail UN efforts to eradicate
poverty, fight against the effects of climate change and address a food
crisis.

Saturday, Francophonie leaders were also trying to mull an agreement on
the environment, before turning to threats to the French language the
next day.

An African delegation proposed unrestricted travel within the
Francophonie, notably for students.

Belgium sparred with Egypt over its proposed amendment of a resolution
promoting press freedoms and guaranteeing journalists’ safety in
troubled zones, that would ban religious caricatures.

And Armenia’s full membership to the Francophonie was accepted, while
Thailand and Latvia were offered "observer" status.(AFP)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress