United States President Bill Clinton has warned of a worrying, growing sense of complacency towards reforming the global financial infrastructure because of the earlier than expected Asian economic recovery.
'I think that's a mistake,' said Mr Clinton, giving a spirited rallying call to international business and government leaders yesterday in Auckland for the reform and restructuring process to go on.
The need to further strengthen markets will be one of the core themes of a joint declaration expected to be endorsed by leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum today.
In a keynote speech on the sidelines of the Apec summit, Mr Clinton said the objective should not just be to recover from this crisis, but ensure Asia never has to suffer such a dramatic economic and financial collapse again.
'We've been seeking new ways to help the international system moderate the cycle of boom and bust in much the way that individual economies have learned to do so since the Great Depression,' he said, explaining the work of the international financial stability forum on which Hong Kong sits.
'I just want to urge you all to keep this progress on course,' he said.