Obama urges G-20 nations to deliver message of unity

US President Barack Obama has urged the G-20 nations to deliver a "strong message of unity" in initiating steps to fight the global financial turmoil and taking up regulatory reform agenda to avoid recurrence of any systemic risks.

Obama, in an interview to the Financial Times, said these countries should work to promote economic growth and fight off protectionism.

About the forthcoming G-20 meeting, the US President said, "The most important task for all of us is to deliver a strong message of unity in the face of crisis."

Pitching for a regulatory reform agenda to prevent systemic risks from happening again, Obama said it requires coordination among countries across the borders.

He said both stimulus and regulation are necessary to fight the global financial meltdown.

"We need stimulus and we need regulation. We need to deal with the problems right in front of us and we also need to make sure we are taking steps to prevent these types of breakdowns from happening again," he told the daily.

Noting that his administration has been very aggressive in terms of the recovery package, Obama said through these plans, money would be going out both in 2009 and 2010.