06 October 2001

O'Neill and G-7 Ministers on Blocking Terrorist Assets

All Group of Seven (G-7) member nations have found and frozen assets linked to the Taliban and Osama bin Laden, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said in a statement following October 6 meetings of G-7 finance ministers and central bankers in Washington.

Appearing together at a press briefing following the meetings, the finance ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States announced a multilateral plan to block terrorist assets they urge all countries to follow.

In a joint statement the ministers and central bankers said they all are increasing efforts to locate and freeze terrorists' assets and will work to stimulate world economic growth by promoting free trade, regulatory reform, strengthened capital markets and enhanced educational opportunities.

They said they welcome a meeting October 29-30 of the Financial Action Task Force in Washington. FATF is the world's leading anti-money laundering authority. They also said they look forward to working more with Russia whose investment climate is "improving." Russia's finance minister participated in some of the day's meetings.

Following are the texts of prepared statements released after the meeting by O'Neill and by the combined G-7 finance ministers and central bankers:

Statement by Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill Following the Meeting of the G-7 Finance Ministers in Washington

It was a pleasure to host this extraordinary meeting of G-7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors. The attacks of September 11 were not only an attack on the United States but also an attack on all freedom-loving people. I was particularly heartened when my colleagues suggested we stand here together today to show the world our unity of purpose and our collective determination to disrupt the financing of terrorism.

During our meeting today, we devised a joint action plan to coordinate the efforts of our seven nations and to broaden our efforts to include every nation in the world. Each G-7 nation has located and frozen Taliban and bin Laden assets in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 1267 and 1333. Each of us has committed to meeting the Egmont group criteria to facilitate the sharing of information. And we are pleased that the FATF [Financial Action Task Force] has agreed to hold a special session here in Washington later this month to expand its work to include combating terrorist financing.

Our Russian colleagues joined our discussion on how to combat the financial underpinnings of terrorism, and I look forward to their efforts in this crucial area. We are well on the way to building an international coalition to disrupt terrorist fundraising.

We also discussed the steps each of us are taking to speed our path to growth, and I was reminded of how valuable it is to exchange views on the appropriate policy response to the current economic environment. We in the United States are pursuing trade promotion authority and tax policy changes to boost consumer spending, raise business investment and rekindle economic growth. I remain confident that our economic fundamentals are strong and the U.S. economy will excel in the long run. Our actions, along with the steps being taken by our G-7 partners, will soon reinvigorate global growth.

end O'Neill statement

Statement of G-7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors

October 6, 2001

We met today to discuss international efforts to combat the financing of terrorism and to address the impact of last month's terrorist attacks on the global economy.

We stand united in our commitment to vigorously track down and intercept the assets of terrorists and to pursue the individuals and countries suspected of financing terrorists. We will implement UN sanctions to block terrorist assets. We are encouraged by the number of countries throughout the world that have already joined in international action to wage a successful fight against the financing of terrorism. We appreciate their efforts. We welcome the decision by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to hold an extraordinary plenary session in Washington on October 29 and 30 to expand its mandate to combat terrorist financing. We will work together to implement our Action Plan which we release today.

Last month's terrorist attacks could delay the resumption of strong growth in our economies. Decisive action has already been taken to support a robust recovery. Notwithstanding remaining short-term uncertainties, we are confident about our future prospects. We are strongly committed to bringing forward needed measures to increase economic growth and preserve the health of our financial markets. We will continue to monitor exchange markets closely and cooperate as appropriate.

Emerging market and developing economies have felt the effects of the slowdown in our economies and could be affected by uncertainty following last month's terrorist attacks. The prospects of the poorest countries could be damaged, and we will take the necessary steps to mitigate these impacts. Those countries adversely impacted by recent developments should also create the conditions for strong economic growth and sustained private capital flows, and the international financial institutions stand ready to assist.

We also discussed the opportunities flowing from greater interactions and linkages among the world's people. We agreed that greater global economic integration brings large benefits. Key to raising living standards and reducing poverty is increasing productivity growth and raising the rate of potential growth. We will do so by promoting free trade and regulatory reform, strengthened capital markets, and enhanced educational opportunity. We thus reaffirm our support for the launch of a new Round of trade negotiations at the upcoming WTO Ministerial.

Greater economic integration brings with it new challenges, requiring increased international cooperation to support sound governance and strong institutions. We will continue to take steps to address dislocations associated with economic adjustment and work to ensure that all can benefit from integration, including through well-targeted and well-coordinated development assistance, effective implementation of the HIPC [Heavily Indebted Poor Countries] Initiative, and poverty reduction strategies.

We welcome Russia's continued economic growth, progress on reform, and ratification of new anti-money laundering legislation. We look forward to additional progress in the financial sector and to an improved investment climate to help sustain growth throughout Russia.

end G-7 finance ministers and central bankers statement