Financial chiefs from the world's seven richest economies meeting in Washington this weekend issued a rosy assessment of international economic progress. Conor O'Clery, North America Editor reports from Washington
Their self-congratulatory mood was tempered, however, by a warning from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund that the world's leading nations are not keeping their Millennium promises to ease the plight of the poor.
The upbeat tone of the finance ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) reflected the calming of currency markets since their last meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, when the US dollar was in freefall. The dollar has strengthened, easing worries in Europe and Japan over the competitiveness of exports.
The G7 policymakers from the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan - with the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, in attendance representing the EU - noted that the global economic recovery "continued to strengthen" since February. They agreed that "prospects are favorable and although risks remain, such as energy prices, overall the balance of risks to the outlook has improved."
"Beyond the United States, there is also good news," said US Treasury Secretary Mr John Snow. "Japan has turned in several good quarters, as has the United Kingdom." He said that there had been some discussion of admitting China to the group at a future date.
European Central Bank president Mr Jean-Claude Trichet acknowledged that while there were encouraging signs, some of the euro-zone data was "a little less flattering".
Concern over energy prices among the G7 was eased somewhat by an assessment by Federal Reserve chairman Mr Alan Greenspan that the high oil prices were partly due to precautionary stock-piling. However, French Finance Minister Mr Nicolas Sarkozy warned that "the principal risk is the oil price risk", and privately officials expressed concern about instability in the Gulf region, where Iraqi oil exports were stopped on Saturday after an attack on oil terminals in the Persian Gulf.
The G7 bullishness on the world economy was matched by the IMF which forecast a 4.6 per cent global growth this year, compared to 3.9 per cent in 2003. However in their final communique yesterday after their two-day spring meeting, the IMF and World Bank said: "We are very concerned that, based on current trends, most of the Millennium Development Goals will not be met by most developing countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa." In 2000 some 189 countries pledged at the UN to adopt the Millennium Development Goals, which included cutting poverty rates by half by 2015 and reversing the spread of AIDS.
"All parties, developing and developed countries and the international institutions, must urgently enhance concerted action to accelerate progress towards these goals," the communique said.
About 1,000 demonstrators turned up on Saturday to protest noisily but peacefully at the globalisation policies of the IMF and World Bank. Their main theme was the intolerable debt burden on developing countries and what they see as the corporate-driven policies of the two bodies, but there were anti-war messages too. One typical banner read "World Bank, IMF, Stop the Killing, Stop the Death."
The IMF policymaking body urged wealthy countries to take advantage of buoyant growth to make reforms, citing labour practices in Europe and banking in Japan, and cutting the budget and current account deficits in the US. "Improved prospects in most regions point to stronger global growth going forward" and countries should "strengthen the foundations for sustainable growth," the International Monetary and Financial Committee said.
