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Changes in Greece, Italy can boost markets, Obama says

Other News Materials 13 November 2011 07:54 (UTC +04:00)
US President Barack Obama welcomed the "positive developments" of political changes in Italy and Greece on Saturday
Changes in Greece, Italy can boost markets, Obama says

US President Barack Obama welcomed the "positive developments" of political changes in Italy and Greece on Saturday, saying the moves could help boost market confidence, dpa reported.

"I was pleased to see that European leaders were taking seriously the need to not just solve the Greek crisis, but also to solve the broader eurozone crisis," Obama said of his meetings with European leaders at last week's G20 summit in France.

"There have been some positive developments over the last week: a new potential government in Italy, a new government in Greece - both committed to applying the sort of internal structural reform that can give markets more confidence," he told business leaders on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

"There is still work to be done in the broader European community, to provide markets a strong assurance that countries like Italy will be able to finance their debt," Obama said, adding that Europe must "stand behind its eurozone members."

"We're not going to see massive growth out of Europe until the problem is resolved, and that will have a dampening effect on the overall global economy," he said.

APEC finance ministers earlier urged the European Union to use faster and stronger measures to tackle its debt crisis.

"It is crucial that Europe move quickly to put in place a strong plan to restore financial stability," US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday.

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