G-20 summit lays ground work for long-term prosperity: Obama

I / Pittsburgh September 26, 2009, 12:32 IST

The landmark G-20 summit in Pittsburgh has laid down the ground work for long-term prosperity, US President Barack Obama said today, but warned that the world cannot tolerate "the same old boom-and-bust" economy of the past.

Terming the third round of G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh as a success, Obama said it has achieved an unprecedented level of tangible global economic cooperation even as acting to address the threat posed by climate change.

"We've brought the global economy back from the brink. We laid the groundwork today for long-term prosperity as well," he said at a post-summit press conference, which was attended by leaders of the top 20 economies of the world.

"Here in Pittsburgh we have taken several significant steps forward to secure our recovery and transition to strong, sustainable and balanced economic growth," he underlined.

"At the G-20, we have achieved a level of tangible global economic cooperation that we have never seen before, while also acting to address the threat posed by climate change," he said.

The President said because the global economy is now "fundamentally interconnected", "we need to act together to make sure our recovery creates new jobs and industries, while preventing the kinds of imbalances and abuse that led us into this crisis."

He warned against the "boom-and-bust economy of the past". "Going forward, we cannot tolerate the same old boom-and-bust economy of the past. We can't grow complacent. We can't wait for a crisis to cooperate", he said.