President Bush and World Leaders Agree on the Washington Declaration to Address Current Financial CrisisNovember 14-15, 2008, Washington DCToday, President Bush and world leaders gathered for the first in a series of meetings to discuss efforts to strengthen economic growth, deal with the financial crisis, and to lay the foundation for reform to help to ensure that a similar crisis does not happen again. Since the outbreak of this crisis, the world's leading nations have coordinated actions more closely than ever before. Thanks in large part to these decisive measures, once frozen global credit markets are beginning to thaw and businesses around the world are gaining access to essential short-term financing. This problem did not develop overnight, and it will not be solved overnight. No single nation will be able to fix this crisis, but with continued cooperation and determination, it will be solved as long as we are steadfast in our commitment to reforming our financial sectors and maintaining free and open markets. oToday's Summit achieved five key objectives. The leaders: oReached a common understanding of the root causes of the global crisis; oReviewed actions countries have taken and will take to address the immediate crisis and strengthen growth; oAgreed on common principles for reforming our financial markets; oLaunched an action plan to implement those principles and asked ministers to develop further specific recommendations that will be reviewed by leaders at a subsequent summit; and oReaffirmed their commitment to free market principles. oThe leaders agreed that immediate steps could be taken or considered to restore growth and support emerging market economies by: oContinuing to take whatev...
