RI urges teamwork to solve fiscal snag

RI urges teamwork to solve fiscal snag

UNITED NATIONS (AP): No nation is immune from the economic
turmoil that brought down an Indonesian president and prompted
some of the worst riots in that country's history, the Indonesian
foreign affairs minister said Thursday.

"The threat of a worldwide recession, even possibly a global
depression, is real," Ali Alatas told members of the General
Assembly gathered to discuss the pros and cons of global economic
interdependence. "In the ultimate analysis, no country is safe
from the hazards of globalization."

The two-day conference that began Thursday focused on the
social and economic impact of the world's increasingly
intertwined and interdependent economies.

Many speeches from U.N. officials and representatives of
poorer countries urged industrialized nations to remember that
they shared responsibility for the crises hitting the developing
world. The industrial world reaped the benefits of developing
nations' initial quick growth, they said.

"The contagion effect of every financial and economic crisis
in every country and in every region will always threaten the
financial and economic stability of every other country and
region," Alatas said.

The collapse of Indonesia's currency last summer was part of
an Asian financial crisis whose effects have spread across the
globe, sparking riots in Indonesia and causing stock markets to
gyrate wildly in Asia, Europe and the Americas. The latest victim
has been Russia, where the plunging value of the ruble has rocked
the government.

"As the world contemplates these events, some are questioning
the desirability of free markets, and the increasing
interdependence of national economies," said Brian Atwood,
administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development.

However, he cautioned, the problems of the day shouldn't be
allowed to define globalized economies. "The benefits still
vastly outweigh the costs," he said.

Echoing those sentiments, Alatas said lessons can be drawn
from financial crises, but solving the problems takes teamwork.

"Globalization is by no means an evil force but it is a blind
one," he said. "Like the winds of change in the ocean of history,
it can shipwreck us or carry us to our intended destination.

"The developed and developing countries are all in the same
boat. Our fate depends on how well we work as a team in trimming
the sails," he said.