Mr. Brown, from London, was hosted in the early evening at the airport in Riyadh by the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, according to an AFP journalist accompanying British Prime Minister. ( Finance Information City )
In his delegation took up the British Trade Minister Lord Peter Mandelson, the Secretary of Energy Ed Miliband, and 27 major British businessmen.
Throughout the tour, which must also lead Gordon Brown to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, most of the discussions should be devoted to the financial crisis and lower oil prices, damaging the Gulf oil monarchies.
Mr. Brown should suggest to heads of state of the three countries to contribute to the increase in reserves of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he had called for to prevent the spread of financial crisis.
"The countries which have substantial reserves, the oil-rich countries and others that will be the most important contributors" to the IMF, whose reserves are currently $ 250 billion, he wished during the past week.
"Obviously I will visit the Gulf this weekend and it will be one of the topics" program, he promised, whereas an increase in reserves of the IMF, which has already provided loans to Iceland , Hungary and Ukraine would help prevent spread of the crisis.
The British leader, however, should face strong resistance.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), whose members are Saudi Arabia - the world's leading exporter - the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, has already warned that it should not count on it to bail out Western countries.
The Secretary General of OPEC, the Libyan Abdallah el-Badri, held last Tuesday "surprising" that everyone looks to OPEC to overcome this crisis and fly to the rescue of the West.
"This crisis has its origin in the United States and must be resolved in the United States, they are capable," he found in London.
Even though most of them still have substantial currency reserves, the Gulf countries are facing a decline in their income they derive more than 80% of oil, whose prices have lost more than 55% in less than four months to go down below 60 dollars.
Mr. Brown has drawn their disapproval expressing "disappointment" last week's decision by OPEC to reduce its offer of 1.5 million barrels a day to try to stem the fall in crude oil prices .
In addition, members of OPEC are suspicious to the IMF, they feel dominated by the United States and other G7 members.
The stay of Mr. Brown in the Gulf ahead of the unprecedented summit of heads of state of major industrialized and emerging countries (G20) in Washington on November 15, to discuss reforming the international financial system and for which the Gulf States will be represented by Saudi King Abdullah.
It also comes following the announcement by the British bank Barclays of a new fundraising of almost 9 billion euros, which will give more than 30% of its capital in Qatar and Abu Dhabi.
0 comments:
Post a Comment