WASHINGTON, February 5: British Prime Minister Tony Blair has strongly backed the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) handling of the Asian financial crisis.A spokesman for Blair said he told IMF managing director Michel Camdessus yesterday at the start of a high-profile visit to Washington that Britain ``strongly disagreed with recent criticisms of the IMF from some quarters in the US.''
Former secretary of state George Shultz, former treasury secretary William Simon and former Citicorp/Citibank chairman Walter Wriston have argued in The Wall Street Journal that the IMF was ``ineffective, unnecessary and obsolete'' and should be abolished once the Asian crisis was over.
Blair's vigorous defence of the IMF came amid controversy in the US congress over the institution's role in rescuing Asian economies and the Clinton administration's bid to secure extra funds for it.
``The UK strongly supports the IMF programme in Asia,'' the spokesman quoted Blair as telling Camdessus shortly after his arrival herefrom London. Blair holds talks with President Bill Clinton, a political soulmate, today and tomorrow.
The IMF programme of bailouts for such countries as South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia was necessary to prevent a market collapse that would have had severe effects on jobs in the United States and Europe, Blair was quoted as saying.
Blair, who will host this year's group of eight summit in Birmingham, England, next May, said he strongly backed Clinton's efforts to secure additional funds for the IMF.
He called it ``hugely important'' to restore market confidence and prevent any further shocks in Asia.
In return for such help, Asian countries should agree to greater transparency in their fiscal and monetary policy and capital flows and the IMF should ensure better surveillance of their economies, he said.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
