Rome - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner makes a tough international debut at the Group of Seven finance minister's meeting opening on Friday, with the global economy tanking and governments still searching for ways to ease the slump.
Officials from the leading industrial nations will discuss new financial markets rules, concerns about protectionist measures in stimulus plans, and the effect of the crisis on poorer countries. But a major breakthrough would be a surprise, with the meeting coming ahead of a broader, 20-country summit in April.
"I don't think I have heard anything imaginative to get the problem resolved. I think they are using worn out prescriptions from a different time," said Peter Morici, a University of Maryland business professor. "I expected there would be more progress on bank reform. But the basic problem is the global trading system is broken, and that is even more fundamental to the banks."
The finance ministers gather on Friday night for a working dinner, before a daylong meeting Saturday.
Geithner will update finance ministers on the Obama administration's efforts to deal with America's financial crisis and recession, and hear what their countries are doing to address the downturn.
Besides Geithner, the US delegation will include Federal Reserve chairperson Ben Bernanke. They will be meeting with their counterparts from Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.
Germany warning against protectionism
The absence of the rising global economic stars China and India, among others, have created a growing consensus that the G7 isn't the right forum to tackle some of the tough questions facing the world. They will be present at the G20 summit in April bringing together industrial and developing nations seeking to advance efforts to cope with the economic crisis and prevent a reoccurence.
There will likely be discussions about common rules for financial markets to improve transparency, governance and the circulation of capital. Morici said the group - home to some of the world's biggest banks - is the right forum to push ahead on bank reform.
Germany is pressing its warnings against protectionism as a knee-jerk reaction to the crisis. Such measures would be devastating to the German economy, which is powered by exports - and German Chancellor Angela Merkel already has voiced concern about the US bailout plan for automakers.
The meeting will also focus on the impact of the crisis on poor countries and on what measures can be taken to mitigate the consequences, particularly where food security is threatened.
German Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck will advocate for an action plan to reform the world financial system and a collective exit strategy, deputy minister Joerg Asmussen told reporters on Wednesday.
While many experts discuss how to prevent future crisis, "the priority really is how to get out of this one," Pierpaolo Benigno, an economist at Rome's LUISS University said. "Obviously the design of the financial architecture, I think, is a second step objective. The priority is how long will it take to exit this crisis."
- Sapa