Handout photo shows G7 finance ministers and their central bank governors holding a meeting in Istanbul, 03 Oct 2009Finance ministers from the Group of Seven large industrializedcountries pledged Saturday to continue government spending programsuntil an economic recovery is assured.

The ministers, meeting inIstanbul, said the recovery was still fragile and warned that highunemployment rates remain a concern along with volatile currencyexchange rates.

Before the meeting, some officials said theweakness of the U.S. dollar, which has long been the world's mainreserve currency, could undermine the global economic recovery.  

Inits final statement, the G7 - which includes the United States,Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan - said "disorderlymovements" in the value of currencies will hurt economic and financialstability.

The dollar is used for key international transactionsand to price commodities like oil, but the growing U.S. debt has causedthe dollar to lose value in trading against other currencies.

The G7 statement welcomed China's commitment to a more flexible exchange rate, which could help promote more balanced trade.

A coalition of the world's developing countries, known as the Group of 24, also met on Saturday.

TheG24 demanded that poorer nations be granted more power at keyinternational economic organizations like the International MonetaryFund.

Last month, world leaders agreed to make the Group of 20 the world's premier decision making body on global economic issues.

G-20members include the United States, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Mexico,France, Germany, the European Union, Argentina, Australia, Britain,Canada, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, SouthKorea, and Turkey.


Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.