At the second meeting of the Asia-Europe meeting (Asem), both parties agreed to reinforce the role of IMF to deal with the crisis.

Asian financial crisis dwarfed all other issues at the summit, which opened on Friday, with the Asian nations setting their eyes on European help to tide over the biggest economic crash to hit their region.

The fallen Asian economic giants, including South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia clamoured for concrete European help and demanded that a summit status paper on European contribution be set out.

European nations have so far not yielded to this demand.

Chairing the session, host British prime minister, Tony Blair, urged Asian nations to avoid the temptation of seeking a tarrif wall in the aftermath of the financial crisisand asked them to move ahead with opening up of the market for greater economic stability and transparency.

Other European heads of states, including chancellor Helmut Kohl of Germany and president Jacques Chirac of France echoed the same sentiments as they also wanted Japan and China to do more to maintain financial stability in the area.

While Asian nations were clamouring for more European assistance, the European nations impressed upon them to avoid what they called pitfalls of falling back on protectionism due to the crises.

European nations said the reform agenda should be implemented in a "transparent and non discriminatory manner".

A paper on financial and economic situation in Asia said the summit supported the provisions of high levels of IMF resources in support of strong programme of adjustment and welcomed the creation of the new IMF supplement reserve facility.

The assembled leaders called for strengthening the capacity of IMF to respond to financial difficulties in a timely anddecisive manner and access to expanded levels of resources through a quota increase and early ratification of the new arrangement to borrow (NAB).

They sought enhanced global IMF surveillance, to be complimented in Asia by establishment of a new regional surviellance mechanism while saying that there should be greater cooperation in regulating and supervising the financial sectors.

The summit also agreed to create an Asem trust fund at the World Bank to help finance technical assistance and advice both on restructuring the financial sector and finding effective ways to redress poverty. Leaders attending the summit felt that the overall impact of the Asian crash on the world economy was likely to be material, but manageable.

LONDON, April 4: China has called for the expansion of Asia-Europe meeting (Asem) saying its composition was "imbalanced" in favour of Europe and should be rectified by inclusion of more Asian countries including India. Chinese foreign minister Tang Jiaxuan, briefing newsmen on theAsem summit delibrations, said "we have clear cut policy on this favouring expansion by inclusion of more Asian members."

"You have 15 European countries represented in Asem, but only ten from Asia. We hope to see more Asian countries included," Tang said in context to a question that why India, an emerging economic power was not represented at the summit.