U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown spoke Monday of the challenge facing the next U.S. president, saying American leadership was central to restoring stability to the battered world economy, AFP reported.
Speaking at an oil conference in Abu Dhabi on day three of a tour of Gulf states, Brown said "even more international cooperation" was necessary to counter financial turbulence and defeat protectionism.
The U.K. premier, who has been at the forefront of the world response to the crisis, wants to raise hundreds of billions of extra dollars to boost the International Monetary Fund`s bailout pot.
It currently stands at $200 billion and is being used to help out Iceland, Hungary and Ukraine. But Brown says it must be bigger to stop "contagion" spreading.
"The next stage of globalization will require even more international cooperation with American leadership central to its success," he said. "In the coming weeks and months, the whole world will want to work closely with America on a shared common agenda."
This would include boosting the economy, reforming the financial system, working in favor of free trade and defeating protectionism and working for peace in the Middle East, he said.
Tuesday`s U.S. presidential election pits Democrat Barack Obama against Republican John McCain.
