German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets the heads of five leading international organizations on Thursday to discuss better ways to cooperate against the global economic downturn, dpa reported.
The talks are part of an initiative launched by the chancellor to drum up support for a new international regulatory system for financial markets, aimed at preventing a repeat of the current crisis.
Set to take part in the talks are Pascal Lamy, director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), World Bank president Robert Zoellick and International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
Also expected to attend are Angel Gurria, secretary general of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and Juan Somavia, director general of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
All five organizations needed to rectify deficits in the way they cooperate with one another, Merkel said at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss city of Davos last week.
The talks come as the European Central Bank and the Bank of England were meeting to consider interest rate changes amid slumping economic growth and dwindling inflation.
Merkel's discussions in Berlin form part of the buildup to a summit of Group of 20 (G20) leading industrial nations and emerging economies set to take place in London on April 2.
Hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the G20 summit is expected to review progress towards forging a new global financial architecture aimed at better regulation, greater transparency and improved cooperation among authorities.
Merkel is scheduled to host a preparatory summit of European G20 members in Berlin on February 22.