British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on G20 countries to stick to the stimulus that has
helped stabilize the global economy this year to underpin recovery.
He was addressing the ongoing G20 Finance Minister and Central Bank Governor Meeting here on Saturday.
Brown said in his speech that a self-sustaining global recovery was hanging in the balance, and the future was not yet secured because demand
was currently being sustained largely by exceptional policy measures in most of the economies.
"We are only about half way through dealing with the causes of the crisis," said the prime minister, who suggested that the framework agreed at the G20 Pittsburg summit in September should be brought to life.
The framework to pursue strong, balanced and sustainable growth is commonly considered a watershed in the management of the world economy.
Brown warned that it would be dangerous to put recovery at risk by suddenly cutting off the funding and investment that had been supporting
families and businesses through the most challenging times in a generation.
"While recent indications of economic expansion give cause for cautious optimism, they are not a reason to end economic stimulus prematurely," he said.
In coordinating and timing the exit strategies within the G20, Brown said: "We need to recognise that, in the new global economy, we need a more balanced pattern of demand to underpin strong but more sustainable global growth."
"We need to reduce sources of instability, including volatile oil and commodity prices," he added.
Brown emphasized that the G20 should articulate more clearly and precisely the broad policy objectives in order to realize the new model for economic governance, which he believed would help assess how the individual
policies for economic development fit together and judge if further action was needed.
The two-day St. Andrews meeting will end on Saturday afternoon, and is the third time Britain has hosted the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governor Meeting this year.