Mexico rescues 129 workers 'abused' by S.Korean firm

Yahoo – AFP, Yemeli Ortega, 6 Feb 2015

Workers at Yes International, a company run by South Koreans, watch as Mexican

 police conduct a raid on February 04, 2015 in Zapopan, Jalisco state, in this 

Mexican Interior Ministry photo (AFP Photo)

Mexico City (AFP) - Mexican authorities have rescued 129 workers, including six children, who said they were exploited and physically and sexually abused at a garment factory run by South Koreans, officials said.

Four South Korean nationals have been handed over to prosecutors in the western state of Jalisco after workers identified them as the owners or managers of the company named Yes International, the National Migration Institute (INM) said.

Workers at Yes International, a company

 run by South Koreans, watch as Mexican

 police conduct a raid on February 04, 2015

 in Zapopan, Jalisco state, in this Mexican

Interior Ministry photo (AFP Photo)

Authorities raided the company in the town of Zapopan on Wednesday after receiving an anonymous tip, INM coordinator Ardelio Vargas Fosado told reporters, describing the South Koreans as a "gang of suspected human traffickers."

Officials rescued 121 women and eight men, including six minors who were 16 and 17 years old.

The workers told prosecutors that they were "victims of physical and sexual abuse, as well as threats, psychological harm and grueling work days," Vargas Fosado said.

The four South Koreans could not prove whether they legally lived in Mexico. The South Korean consulate was notified to provide assistance to the suspects, officials said.

Jalisco's chief prosecutor, Luis Carlos Najera, said authorities are investigating whether child abuse and sexual crimes were committed.

The employees toiled in "unsanitary" conditions, with pollutants in their place of work, and the material they handled posed a fire hazard while the company had no fire safety equipment, said Victor Manuel Torres Moreno, a labor ministry official.

Officials also said the employees endured verbal abuse; lacked contracts; worked more than the legal eight hours per day; only had 15-minute lunches instead of half an hour; were not paid for overtime; and were not given health benefits.

The minors were handed over to their parents following the operation, but authorities are also checking their family surroundings.

Other workers were given psychological assistance.

AFP visited the work site and interviewed one of the workers, who denied physical or sexual abuse. But she did say there was verbal abuse by one of the detainees. She attributed this to Asian culture, in which she said she understood that people yell at each other a lot.

The interior ministry released pictures of the operation showing workers standing next to several boxes of clothes and stacks of textile material inside the factory, which had high walls.

Mexican authorities have rescued 129 workers, including six children, who said 

they were exploited and physically and sexually abused at a garment factory

 run by South Koreans (AFP Photo)

It was not the first time that authorities found workers abused by employers in Jalisco.

In 2013, police rescued at least 275 people, including 39 teenagers, who were being held in slave-like conditions in a camp in Toliman, where tomatoes were sorted and packed for export.

The victims were rescued when a worker escaped and made it to Jalisco's state capital to file a complaint.

The tomato farm's workers were kept in overcrowded housing and were paid half of what had been offered, much of it delivered in vouchers redeemable at the company store, where items were sold at a high markup.

Mexico to give equality prize to Pakistan's Malala

Google – AFP, 25 November 2013

Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai addresses the European Parliament

 assembly on November 20, 2013 after receiving the EU's prestigious Sakharov

human rights prize (AFP/File, Patrick Hertzog)

Mexico City — Mexico said Sunday it will award its 2013 International Prize for Equality and Non-Discrimination to Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban for championing girls' rights to education.

The award seeks to recognize Malala's efforts for "the protection of human rights" and especially her fight to protect the right to education without discrimination on "grounds of age, gender, sex and religion," Mexico's official National Council to Prevent Discrimination said in a statement.

The award ceremony is planned for early 2014.

The 16-year-old, who survived a gunshot wound to the head in 2012, has become a global ambassador for the rights of children.

She is currently living in Britain, where she underwent surgery after the attack.

Malala, who since age 11 has written a blog about girls' right to education, has written an autobiography, addressed the United Nations and set up a fund to help girls around the world go to school and promote universal access to education.

Last week, she was awarded the European Union's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize at a ceremony significantly held on World Children's Day.

Pakistan's teenage activist Malala Yousafzai is awarded with the
Sakharov Prize  for Freedom of Thought by European Parliament
chief Martin Schulz in Strasbourg, eastern France, on November 20,
2013 (AFP, Patrick) 

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Mexico applauds the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) ratification by RI

Antara News, Thu, December 8 2011

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), signed in 1996, prohibits all nuclear testing under any circumstances.

Related News

• New Zealand hails RI`s move on nuclear test ban
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• UN chief welcomes CTBT`s ratification by RI

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Mexican government applauds the decision of the Indonesian Parliament to approve the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), allowing Indonesia to ratify it.

Participation in the Comprehensive 

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

"This is an important step towards the treaty`s entry into force and will contribute to a nuclear-weapon-free world," the Mexican foreign ministry said in a press release.

The Mexican government urged the countries that have not yet endorsed or adhered to the treaty to do so as soon as possible so that the CTBT can enter into force around the world.

Its entry into force would make it difficult to modernize the existing nuclear arsenals and to develop new weapons, thereby strengthening international security.

Mexico ratified the CTBT on October 5, 1999 and has five monitoring stations that are part of the surveillance system: three auxiliary seismic stations (Yucatan, Oaxaca and Baja California), a hydroacoustic station (Colima) and a radionuclide station (Baja California Sur).

Mexico co-chaired with Sweden the 7th Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the CTBT, also known as the Article XIV Conference in New York, on the sidelines of the 66th United Nations General Assembly last September.

Mexico reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating nuclear weapons and strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation regime, in the belief that both are necessary and complementary actions to address international security concerns, the statement said.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), signed in 1996, prohibits all nuclear testing under any circumstances.

The treaty has been ratified by 155 countries but has not yet entered into force, since it requires the ratification of all of the 44 Annex II countries, those with nuclear technology capabilities.

Indonesia is one of the Annex II nations. The eight countries whose ratification is required for entry into force are: China, Egypt, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Democratic People`s Republic of Korea and the USA. Indonesia`s ratification will be officially recognized when the ratification instrument is presented to the United Nations.

Indonesia signed the CTBT on September 24, 1996 and its ratification will help encourage other countries to do the same as soon as possible. It will also strengthen the treaty`s international monitoring system, as there are six seismic stations in Indonesia.

The treaty provides for a system capable of detecting nuclear explosions anywhere in the world, either in the atmosphere, underwater or underground, and is made up of 321 stations for seismic, hydroacoustic and infrasound monitoring, and 16 radionuclide laboratories.

Editor: Heru

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Mexico sacks 10% of police force in corruption probe

BBC News, 30 August 2010 Last updated at 18:01 GMT 

The federal police force in Mexico says it has sacked almost 10% of its officers this year for corruption, incompetence or links to organised crime.

More officers could face disciplinary action
 in the wide-ranging crackdown

Commissioner Facundo Rosas said 3,200 officers had been fired.

More than 1,000 others were facing disciplinary action and could also lose their jobs, he added.

None of the officers would be allowed to work in police forces at local, state or federal levels, Mr Rosas said.

Many of those removed are now facing criminal charges.

At a news conference, Mr Rosas said some of the officers had been accused by subordinates of having links to drug cartels in Ciudad Juarez, the country's most violent city.

The commissioner said this was only the first stage of a purge of Mexico's forces.

Soon after taking office, President Felipe Calderon launched an all-out war against the drug cartels.

In many parts of the country he has deployed the army against the traffickers despite the opposition of many of his critics.

But Mr Rosas said the federal police force was also taking part in the drugs war.

He said the ongoing purge was part of a strategy to rid the police of corruption and make its 34,500 officers more reliable, as they were an integral part of the country's security forces.

The war against the drug cartels has left some 25,000 people dead since Mr Calderon came to power in December 2006. 

Obama invites major economies to energy forum

CNN, 29 March 2009

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Barack Obama has invited the leaders of 16 major economies to Washington for a forum on energy and climate next month, the White House announced Saturday.

Obama, who recently turned his attention to the need for more clean-energy funding, has also asked U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to attend.

The forum, scheduled for April 27-28, seeks to "generate the political leadership necessary" for a successful outcome at the U.N. climate change negotiation to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December, the White House said in a statement.

Aside from the United States, the 16 other major economies are Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Last week, Obama told a group of renewable-energy company owners and investors that the country has "known the right choice for a generation (and that) the time has come to make that choice."

He argued that an expanded investment is needed to lay the foundation for long-term economic growth, cut dependence on foreign oil and slow the process of global warming.

"We can allow climate change to wreak unnatural havoc or we can create jobs preventing its worse effects," he said. "We can hand over the jobs of the 21st century to our competitors, or we can create those jobs right here in America."

The need for new energy sources was a heated point of contention in the 2008 presidential campaign. Obama emphasized the need for renewable-energy development, while Republican nominee John McCain stressed a preference for more oil drilling within the United States.

Japan readies defence for North Korea rocket launch

Reuters, Yoko Nishikawa, Thu Mar 26, 2009 8:47pm EDT

TOKYO (AFP) | by Kyoko Hasegawa | 04:49 PM. 03/27/2009

TOKYO, March 27 (Reuters) - Japan on Friday ordered its military to prepare to intercept any dangerous debris that might fall on its territory if a missile launch planned by Pyongyang goes wrong.

Pyongyang has said that between April 4-8 it will launch a satellite, but regional powers believe the real purpose is to test its longest-range missile, the Taepodong-2. It has already positioned what is believed to be the missile on a launch pad.

"I have issued an order ... to prepare to destroy any object that might fall on Japan as a result of an accident involving a flying object from North Korea," Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada told reporters after a meeting of Japan's Security Council.

North Korea this week put a long-range missile in place for the launch, which the United States has warned would violate U.N. sanctions imposed on Pyongyang for past weapons tests.

Top nuclear envoys from Japan, South Korea and the United States were to meet in Washington on Friday in a signal of growing concern over the possible launch, the first big test for U.S. President Barack Obama in dealing with the prickly North.

INTERCEPT DEBRIS

Japan's pacifist constitution does not allow it to intercept a missile if it is clearly heading elsewhere, but Tokyo would try to shoot down a missile aimed at Japanese territory and might try to intercept any debris that falls toward Japan.

Japan is expected to move ground-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3 interceptors to northern Japan, which lies under the rocket's trajectory, and deploy two Aegis-equipped destroyers with Standard Missile-3 interceptors off Japan's coast. [ID:nT101218]

North Korea has given international agencies notice of the rocket's planned trajectory that would take it over Japan, dropping booster stages to its east and west.

The U.S. military has said it could with "high probability" intercept any North Korean missile heading for U.S. territory, if ordered to do so. Pyongyang says any attempt to shoot down the rocket would be an act of war.

Japan has interceptors theoretically capable of shooting down a missile aimed at its territory, but analysts are divided on whether it can intercept free-falling debris that may fall toward Japan.

South Korea said the launch would be a serious challenge to security in north Asia, which accounts for one sixth of the global economy. Japan urged North Korea to refrain from action that would destablise the region.

The planned launch and growing tension on the Korean peninsula are beginning to worry financial markets in the South, although so far there has been only minor impact.

SHAKE THE MARKETS

"If they really fire something, it would definitely shake the financial markets, but only briefly, as has been the case in many previous cases of provocation and clashes," said Jung Sung-min, a fixed-income analyst at Eugene Futures.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, during a visit to Mexico earlier this week, said the launch would deal a blow to six-party talks to end Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.

Those talks sputtered to a halt in December over disagreement on how to check the North was disabling its nuclear facilities.

North Korea warned that any action by the U.N. Security Council to punish it would be a "hostile act".

North Korea faces a range of U.N. sanctions and many analysts doubt new ones would get past China -- the nearest Pyongyang has to a powerful ally -- in the Security Council.

China, sticking to its low-key approach, said it hoped all "relevant parties will remain restrained and calm".

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also cautioned the international community against making rash decisions.

"Do not try to make evaluations before events have occurred," he said in Moscow, while noting U.N. Security Council resolutions should be adhered to.

A successful launch would be a huge boost at home to leader Kim Jong-il, whose illness last year -- widely thought to have been a stroke -- has raised questions over his grip on power. (Writing by Linda Sieg; Editing by David Fox)

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Japan EPA affected by crisis

Mustaqim Adamrah, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Fri, 03/20/2009 12:31 PM

Part implementation of Japan’s EPA agreement with Indonesia to help develop human resources in 13 industries is delayed by the economic crisis.

An expert assistant to Industry Minister Fahmi Idris, Achdiat Atmawinata, said Thursday that out of the 13 sectors programmed under the Manufacturing Industrial Development Center (Midec), part of the Indonesia-Japan EPA economic cooperation agreement, three of the components mentioned have not yet started to be implemented.

The Midec training program is a supporting part of the Indonesia-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (IJ-EPA), a free trade agreement between the two countries which came into force last July.

“The ongoing economic crisis has hurt Japan’s economy and consequently affected the implementation of the Midec.”

“[Therefore] we set a target that the work for three remaining sectors – electronics, petrochemicals and food and beverages – would start in the fiscal year of 2009,” he added.

The 13 sectors include metal work, welding, industrial molds and dies, export promotion and investment, micro business, automotive, steel, textile, oleo chemicals and non-iron metals.

Indonesia could earn up to US$68 billion by 2012 from expanding businesses in the 13 areas, if they are well-developed under the Midec program, Achdiat said.

The IJ-EPA requires Japan to actively help develop the 13 sectors under the Midec program because this would also help determine “the level of Japan’s products absorbed in the Indonesian market”, he said.

Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said earlier that industrial capacity building under the Midec programs would experience a “little” disturbance as the global financial crisis is hitting the world’s developed economies, including Japan.

“Midec training and education related programs may be delayed [because of the crisis],” he said.

“But [the crisis] will not delay programs [related to efforts to intensify export-import activities between the two countries] by any means.”

“Even if there were a decline in the volume and value of our exports to Japan and vice versa, that would not result from any delay in [the implementation of] Midec programs.”

Under the IJ-EPA, Indonesia agrees to reduce to zero 92.5 percent of 11,163 tariff lines covering import duties on a wide range of items incrementally over a period of 15 years from the start of the agreement.

Indonesia has further scrapped 328 tariff lines imposed on steel products under the user specific duty free scheme (USDFS), which also comes under the IJ-EPA. This covers steel products used in automotive and auto parts, electronics, energy and construction.

Indonesia reciprocally accesses duty reductions for exports of fruit and fishery products to Japan.

The Economic Partnership Agreement is designed to strengthen bilateral economic relations between the two Asian nations, covering not only issues related to trade and tariffs but also investment and movement of labour.

Besides Indonesia, Japan has also signed EPA agreements with Singapore, Mexico, Malaysia, Chile and Thailand.

BRIICs, world leaders in trade openness and growth

Riyadi Suparno, THE JAKARTA POST, PARIS | Fri, 03/20/2009 12:03 PM

The world’s largest high-growth emerging economies are falling into the trap of protectionism amid the global crisis and they seem to forget that they have been prospering as a result of their relative openness to international trade and investment, according to an OECD report.

The report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released in Geneva Thursday focuses on the world’s largest high growth emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa, which the organization calls the BRIICs.

The organization noted in the report that the mistaken notion that the current economic crisis was the result of free trade and market failure had led to an anti-market backlash and calls for protectionism, including among BRIIC countries.

Douglas Lippoldt, acting head of Development Division at the Trade and Agricultural Directorate at OECD, told reporters in Paris on Thursday that “times of crisis are also times of opportunities.”

“Trade protectionism is not the way to tackle the current crisis. All countries, including OECD members and BRIICs, should try more than ever to keep the international market open in order to improve economic prospects for all,” he said.

The report shows that all the six BRIIC countries were champions of free trade and market liberalization, but their openings to the market — except for China — have stalled.

In Indonesia, trade liberalization measures imposed by the International Monetary Fund following the financial crisis in 1997-98 have not been reversed, but there has been creeping protectionism in agriculture, textiles and steel, mainly through tariff barriers.

In Brazil, there was virtually no trade liberalization in the years since tariff reductions were introduced in the late 1980s and mid-1990s.

In South Africa, external trade liberalization has stalled since the 1990s and skepticism about liberalization has set in.

India is by far the most protected country among the BRIICs, with relatively higher average tariffs.

Russia is now in the process of accession to the WTO, but negotiations have been protracted and “stop-go” with no indications of being concluded in the near future.

OECD suggested that BRIICs pursue market openings through multilateral mechanisms under the WTO rather than through preferential free trade agreements because FTAs may only create complications for business and for the development of multilateral rules.

OECD also noted that these six BRIIC countries excelled in opening their borders to global trade, but were still struggling to liberalize their own domestic trade and investment, or what the OECD called the behind-border reforms.

Domestic reforms in service regulations, regulation of technical standards, intellectual property rights, public procurement rules, customs administration and competition rules are a key challenge in all the BRIIC countries.

In Indonesia, the biggest problems still include labor rigidity and impediments to investment, both domestic and foreign investment.

OECD picked these six emerging countries and made an update on them in this report on the BRIICs because of their growing and leading influence in the world economy.

The BRIIC concept is an extension of the idea of the original BRIC group. Goldman Sachs predicted that Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRICs) would become a larger force in the world economy over the next 50 years and could become larger than the G6 (US, Japan, UK, Germany, France and Italy).

OECD then included Indonesia and South Africa in recognition of their economic size, relative to other OECD members.

Leaving aside oil-rich Saudi Arabia and two other large emerging OECD economies (Mexico and Turkey), the BRIICs are by far the largest economies in the developing world in transition, and the only countries in this category with gross national incomes of over US$200 billion per annum.

The economic expansion within all the six BRIIC countries is in line with the influx of multinational investment, as well as their incremental growth over recent years.

The report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released in Geneva .

Dutch open education office

Bangkok Post, By: PROF B JAMES JOHNSON, 17/03/2009 at 12:00 AM 

The Netherlands embassy in Bangkok and Nuffic Neso Thailand opened an office in Thailand on March 6 dedicated to serving Thai students who are interested in studying in Holland. The Nuffic Neso (Netherlands Education Support Offices) centre is the 10th such education support office opened worldwide, behind Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Mexico, Russia, Taipei, and Vietnam. 

With scissors in hand and ready to cut the ceremonial ribbon at the official opening of the Nuffic Neso Thailand office are, from left, Assoc Prof Dr Piniti Ratananukul, deputy secretary general of the Commission on Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Thailand; Mr Sander van den Eijnden, president of Nuffic; the Netherlands’ Ambassador to Thailand, Mr Tjaco T. van den Hout; and Mr Erik Martijnse, deputy director, Directorate of Higher Education, the Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture & Science. B. JAMES JOHNSON

Services 

Nuffic provides information on Dutch higher education, curricula, diplomas, titles and degrees. 

This information is often distributed through Neso, whose main tasks are the promotion of Dutch higher education and the enhancement of cooperation between higher education institutions in the Netherlands and institutions, in this case, in Thailand and the region. 

Neso will also channel information and provide support and liaison for the academic communities of the Netherlands and Thailand and will provide information about student visas. 

Erik Martijnse, deputy director, Directorate of Higher Education, Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture & Science and Student Finance, in delivering the keynote address, said: "The Neso offices are responsible for the generic promotion of Dutch higher education and for recruiting talented foreign students." 

He added that, "They also support initiatives for institutional collaboration between Dutch higher education institutions and international partners in students' own countries," concluding that, "In this way, they play a role in supporting both individual student and higher education institutions in both the Netherlands and Thailand." 

Mr Tjaco van den Hout, the Netherlands Ambassador to Thailand emphasized that it is the goal of Nuffic Neso to foster a "balanced exchange of Thai students who study in the Netherlands and Dutch students who come to study in Thailand". 

History of cooperation 

Erik Martijnse cited the 405-year commercial history between the Netherlands and Thailand (major Dutch companies operating today in Thailand are ABN-Amro, Heineken, Philips and Unilever) as another reason for the higher education institutions of the two countries to have a closer working relationship. 

At least five Thai universities have had a collaborative relationship since 1993 with the veterinary medicine faculty of Utrecht University, which is in the fourth largest city of the Netherlands. 

The Neso office has been in the making for several years, since the signing of a memorandum of understanding in 2007 and the trip by Thai education administrators to the Netherlands last December, which resulted in agreements on student loan systems and education cooperation between the countries. 

On the rise 

Soehirman Patmo, director of Neso Thailand said, "Education in the Netherlands is excellent and our universities are already very international in curriculum, scope and student population," with Martijnse adding that "the Netherlands has 14 research universities and 41 universities of applied sciences, which offer more than 1300 bachelor's and master's degree programmes - all with English as the medium of instruction." In conclusion, he said, "In 2008, about 160 Thai students were studying at Dutch institutions of higher learning, eight times more than in 2000!" 

For more information, visit http://www.nuffic.nl and http://www.nesothailand.org .

Indonesia gets $5.5 billion in loans to plug budget deficit and stimulate economy

Aditya Suharmoko, The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Thu, 03/05/2009 10:54 AM  

Indonesia has officially agreed US$5.5 billion of loans from Australia, Japan, the World Bank  (WB) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to help fill shortfalls in  the state budget, as well as to stimulate the weakening economy. 

Australia supplies $1 billion and Japan $1.5 billion, WB supplies $2 billion and ADB $1 billion.

The loans, coming under the Public Expenditure Support Facility (PESF), will only be used if  the government fails to raise enough funds from bonds and other borrowing. It is also known as a deferred drawdown option (DDO) scheme.

“The DDO means the money can be used when it’s needed and it’s not all spent at once. It can be spent at other times as the need arises,” WB  acting country director Chris Hoban said in a press conference on  Wednesday.

The WB loans are payable over 24.5 years, with  a 10-year grace period for repayments, the Washington-based lender said in a statement.

Australian Ambassador to Indonesia Bill Farmer said the finalization of their loan would be made this month, and the funds would be available starting in April.

“We’re in the middle of finalizing the details.”

As to the loan from Japan, it will be available as  a guarantee on the yen-denominated bonds Indonesia plans to sell. Should Indonesia cancel the Samurai bond plan, the loan will be converted to an ordinary loan to help finance the budget deficit.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Japanese Parliamentary Secretary for Finance Shinsuke Suematsu forged the loan deal during the special ASEAN+3 Finance Minister’s meeting in the Thai resort island of Phuket on Feb 21.

The ADB has not revealed any details over its loan pledge yet.

Liquidity shortages in the global financial market have forced the Indonesian government to turn to multilateral and bilateral  deals to ensure its budget financing remains intact should it fail to raise needed funds from the regular market.

Mulyani said the $5.5 billion in loans could be drawn down up to 2010, and would be “enough” to finance the gap in this year’s budget.

She said the loans would only be used if the government failed to issue and sell enough bonds to finance gaps in the budget.

The predicted budget deficit stands at Rp 139.5 trillion ($11.6 billion). The government last month sold $3 billion of medium-term notes to help plug the budget gap.

According to the Finance Ministry, the government has so far issued Rp 56 trillion worth of bonds.

Mulyani said that aside from the deficit, the loans would also be used to  help maintain the financial sector and sustain public expenditure, as well as supporting exports -- all of which are crucial so as to ensure that the economy can expand by 4.5 percent this year, as planned.

The loan will be on top of the Rp 73.3 trillion economic stimulus package approved recently by the House of Representatives.

Meanwhile, Mulyani also said the G-20 (group of finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s 20 largest economies) should approve a planned $200 billion package designed to help emerging markets cope with the deepening global economic crisis.

“What we expect from the G-20 meeting (in London next month) is a more concrete commitment, such as some hundreds of billions of dollars that can be mobilized to support developing and poor countries,” she said.

The G-20 nations include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the US, and UK , with the EU also present.