The talk of the ongoing global financial crisis has stolen the limelight during the three-day summit of the International Organization of Francophonie (IOF) in the capital city of Canada’s French-speaking Quebec province.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon (1st R), secretary general of the International Organization of Francophonie (IOF) Abdou Diouf (C) and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper (L) attend the press conference after the closing ceremony of the three-day summit of the IOF in the capital city of Canada’s French-speaking Quebec province. Oct. 19, 2008. In their final declaration of the summit, the world leaders called for an international summit on the current global financial turmoil. (Xinhua/Yang Chuanlin)

In their final declaration, issued at the closing ceremony Sunday afternoon, the world leaders called for an international summit on the current global financial turmoil.

“No country is immune from the turmoil that undermines the global credit markets and the turbulence that rocked our markets require urgent intervention and coordination,” They said.

The IOF will actively participate in the enhancement of the international financial system to make it “more consistent,” and support a reform aimed at improving “transparency, integrity and banking strength of the global economic governance,”

An international summit on this issue should be held for this purpose, the declaration said.

Speaking at the news briefing immediately after the summit, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon stressed the rebuilding of the global financial system as advocated in recent weeks by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Uniform rules should apply everywhere including in tax havens as discrepancies in regulation around the world that can lead to the sort of turbulence now afflicting markets, he said.

“Nobody wants extra rules. Nobody wants protectionism. What we want is simply a regulation of the financial system that is coherent and consistent in all parts of the globe,” said Fillon.

DO NOT IGNORE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES’ INTERESTS WHILE TACKLING MARKET TURMOIL

Quebec Premier Jean Charest called “the first North-South forum” after the outbreak of the financial crisis a success, citing support by the United Nations to the Francophonie’s call to convene an emergent world summit on the crisis.

The OIF’s secretary general Abdou Diouf echoed Charest’s comments, describing the Quebec summit as “truly exceptional.”

However, Charest stressed that the solution to the financial crisis must “take account the needs of developing countries.”

The timing of the summit of la Francophonie allowed developing countries to express themselves about their economic concerns, he said.

Many African leaders have expressed their concerns over the crisis.

“(It) can easily turn into economic crisis, thus slowing economic activity in developing countries,” said President of Djibouti Ismail Omar Guelleh.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who attended the summit as a special guest, said that the crisis “not only shakes the key industrialized countries, but also affects developing countries future development.”

“Their economic structural problems will be complicated with new threats and difficulties,” he said.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper also urged the world’s developed countries to fight protectionism on trade issues.

Harper said there are two things the world should not be doing during the crisis.

“One is allowing an unregulated banking system to spiral into collapse, but the other is to make sure we don’t start slamming our doors to trade,” he said.

CONCERNS OVER WORLD FOOD CRISIS, ENVIRONMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE

The leaders also pledged to help cut global greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050, while reaffirming its backing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.

Earlier in the day, Harper announced 100 million Canadian dollars (about 84 million U.S. dollars) in aid for poorer countries most affected by global warming.

Developed countries such as Canada are in a position to help poorer nations, he said, adding the money will go especially to countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the South Pacific.

The summit also affirmed its determination to “work together in international forum to support the nurture of a global partnership for cooking and agriculture, to further support for initiatives in this regard in developing countries, particularly in Africa.

Moreover, the French speaking nations vowed to raise the statusand the use of French in the economic, social, cultural, tourist and scientific fields.

The Francophonie is the French-language equivalent of the Commonwealth and a summit is held every two years.

The 13th Francophonie summit will be held in Madagascar in 2010.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet