Rudd, Zoellick fear financial crisis 'chaos'

26 Mar 2009, 12:16 pm   -   Source: AAP
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Kevin Rudd met World Bank cheif Robert Zoellick, who fears the financial crisis may spark social and political unrest in countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and some Pacific nations.

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Social and political unrest resulting from the global economic crisis could threaten the stability of countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan and some developing nations in the Pacific, World Bank president Robert Zoellick says.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has met Mr Zoellick in the US capital to discuss the approach for next week's G20 summit of the world's leading economies in London to deal with the financial crisis.
   
Speaking at a joint news conference at the World Bank after their meeting, Mr Zoellick said that as the economic crisis worsens the worry will be its impact on countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, Haiti, Liberia, and some nations in the Pacific which were already vulnerable.
   
"As this crisis lengthens and deepens, I think one of the great concerns will be the social and political aspects," Mr Zoellick old reporters.

"As I said last week, I think 2009's a dangerous year economically."
   
Their meeting was dominated by the approach to take to the G20.
   
Mr Rudd said the need was for the international community to "rise to the challenge" and work together to deal with the global financial crisis.
   
"It is important for all G20 leaders to bear in mind equally the impact of this recession on those with the least resources available to them to deal with its consequences, those who do not have levels of social security or support in their country," Mr Rudd told reporters.
   
Mr Rudd and Mr Zoellick, who met earlier last November at the G20 summit in Washington DC, noted then that the global financial crisis was changing into an employment crisis and, in some countries, a social crisis or a political crisis.
   
"If you look at some countries around the world you can already see the emergence, particularly in the developing world, of social tensions rising," Mr Rudd said on Wednesday in the US.

"That is why it's absolutely important that when we get to London we are not just focused on the developed world but developing economies as well. None of us want to see social crisis, political instability across those economies."
   
Mr Zoellick and Mr Rudd, discussing protectionism, found they share the same view: that trade should remain free of creeping protectionism and that there might still be a chance to complete the collapsed Doha round of world trade talks.

"I'm really pleased he could take time to visit here so we could compare notes. We will both be in London next week and I look forward to working with him (Mr Rudd) there," Mr Zoellick said.
 

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