Communiqué

The Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the countries of the Group of Ten met in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, on 21 September 2003. Mr. John Manley, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Canada and current Chairman of the Group of Ten, chaired the meeting. Ministers and Governors took note of reports from Sir Andrew Large, Chairman of the Deputies of the Group of Ten, Mr John Taylor, Chairman of Working Party No. 3 of the OECD, and Mr. Malcolm Knight, General Manager of the BIS.

Ministers and Governors discussed the general economic climate and key challenges facing the G-10 economies. They welcomed the recent prospects of improvement in the overall economic outlook, including the acceleration of activity in the United States and Japan and the reforms being implemented in Europe. They agreed that supportive macroeconomic policy measures are contributing to a recovery. However, they noted that some risks remain. Ministers and Governors discussed the significant internal and external imbalances that persist, which could weigh on the sustainability of the recovery. They underscored the need for fiscal consolidation as the recovery takes hold to cope with the mounting fiscal pressures associated with population ageing. They also stressed the need for continued progress on structural reform to raise potential growth, enhance economies' resilience to possible shocks and contribute to the unwinding of global imbalances.

Ministers and Governors welcomed the increasingly widespread use of collective action clauses (CACs) in international sovereign bond issues. In this context, they noted the significant role that had been played by the Group of Ten Working Group on Contractual Clauses, both via its report and its consultations with issuers and market participants on the content and impact of CACs. They looked forward to the inclusion of CACs as a standard feature of bond issues in all major legal jurisdictions as an important element of the debt resolution framework.

Treasury Secretary John Snow of the United States was elected Chairman of the Group of Ten for the coming year.

Ministers and Governors expressed sincere gratitude to their hosts for the hospitality shown to them on the occasion of their meeting in Dubai.