IMF chief calls for reshaped global order

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The chief of the International Monetary Fund says world leaders should view the global recession as an opportunity to reshape the economic world.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, speaking Tuesday to policymakers from 186 countries gathered in Istanbul, urged countries to "seize this opportunity to shape the post-crisis world" and asserted that all nations "need to adapt and change," as must his organization.

"In this modern globalized world, it no longer makes sense for global economic policy to be the concern of just a small group of countries," Strauss-Kahn said. "Reflecting this new reality, one of the great changes over the past year has been the ascent of the G-20 -- a group that includes the dynamic emerging economies."

Strauss-Kahn said the Group of 20 meeting last month in Pittsburgh created momentum for "global collective interest," but cautioned there are still many countries not included in economic decision-making, especially in Africa.

"These countries include the low-income countries, home to billions who still live in poverty, who remain economically marginalized," the leader of the international financial organization said. "Their voices too must be heard. They too deserve a stake in the global economy. We need cooperation among all the countries of the world."