Britain’s Brown calls for bigger IMF bailout fund

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on China and oil-rich Gulf states to bolster the International Monetary Fund as more countries rocked by the global economic downturn seek help, saying Tuesday those with the greatest surpluses should do more.

The British leader, who has been at the forefront of efforts to combat the global financial meltdown, said the IMF needs “substantially” more than the current $250 billion set aside for struggling nations. The IMF’s executive board is expected soon to consider ways to streamline its emergency loan programs as it braces for a stream of petitions.

In the past few weeks alone, Iceland, Pakistan, Hungary, Ukraine have all sought help from the IMF, long known as the lender of last resort.

Brown’s office said the British premier will discuss exactly how much more money he believes should be pledged during upcoming talks with fellow world leaders.

“We must act now, we must set up the fund as quickly as possible,” Brown told reporters in London.

Brown said he will travel to the Gulf region Saturday to discuss the plan and speak by phone with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao later this week.

He said he wasn’t ruling out an additional contribution from Britain, which itself is struggling under the global financial meltdown, but indicated other countries would need to take the lead.

It will be “the countries that have got substantial reserves, the oil rich countries and others, who are going to be the biggest contributors to this fund,” Brown said.
“China also has very substantial reserves. There are a number of countries that actually can do quite a lot in the immediate future to make sure that the international community has sufficient resources to support countries that get themselves into difficulties,” he said.