US Treasury Secretary Mr Paul O'Neill said today the world must not look solely to the United States to power the global economy and urged Europe and Japan to boost growth.
In a statement ahead of meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers on Saturday, Mr O'Neill also called for stepped-up efforts to detect global financial crises.
With a slowdown apparent in the world economy, "policies focused on growth are more important than ever," he said.
But he said: "The world must not rely on the United States as the engine of global growth."
"Others must also grow at their true potential rate. Europe and Japan must tackle challenges in their economies to help contribute to global expansion and a reduction in external imbalances."
Elsewhere, Mr O'Neill stressed that "crisis prevention needs reinvigoration".
"Crises strike when there is a failure to detect them early or a failure to identify and implement the measures needed to avert them."
AFP