Istanbul - Finance ministers promised to keep up public spending measures until a stronger economic recovery takes hold and were poised on Sunday to endorse new monitoring powers for the International Monetary Fund (IMF). But as the IMF's steering committee began meeting in Istanbul, a battle was brewing over how much extra say developing countries should get in global financial institutions.
Finance ministers said ahead of the meeting that they were committed to doing what it takes to keep a tentative recovery of the global economic recovery alive.
Joaquin Almunia, the EU's economic and monetary affairs commissioner, said the economic crisis of the past year had lowered the growth potential of the world's wealthy nations.
"The worst of the crisis is probably behind us, but there is no room for complacency," he said. "The crisis has left some lasting damage and in the coming years growth is likely to remain relatively subdued."
The ministers were expected to back a call at last month's summit of the Group of 20 (G20) - a bloc of advanced and developing economies - for the IMF to help the world shift its growth dynamics to a more balanced footing. The idea is for the IMF to ensure that government policies are better in sync with each other in future.
In April the G20 agreed to a massive boost in the IMF's resources for helping countries in crisis, tripling its lending reserves to 750 billion dollars.
"As IMF governors, we have an important responsibility to work collaboratively to advance the reform agenda to support a durable recovery and head off future crises," said US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.
But while the IMF is set to get new powers, developing countries declared themselves unsatisfied with a deal to give them more influence over the institution. The issue was expected to be a key source of tension during Sunday's meeting.
The G20 pledged to shift voting shares by at least 5 per cent in the IMF, which would give developing countries about 48 per cent of the votes in the crisis lender. Poorer nations on Saturday said they would continue to press for an equal voice with industrial nations.
