Finance ministers and central bank presidents from the Group of 20, which includes wealthy and developing nations, agreed the world must work together to address the current crisis. But they approved no specific plans ahead of a meeting of G-20 heads of state set for Washington next week.
Ministers urged governments to increase spending or cut taxes as they can to help reverse an economic downturn that is expected reduce global trade next year for the first time since 1982.
Each country will have to design its own stimulus package to meet its specific needs, said David McCormick, the U.S. Treasury's undersecretary for international affairs.
The G-20 also backed a call to bolster developing nations' voting power in key groups including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, following decades of complaints that their voices have been stifled.