By IRNA,
London : Prime Minister Gordon Brown was holding talks Thursday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as part of a continuing round of intense international discussion about the global economic crisis.
The London discussions would be dominated by the economy and the need to develop a co-ordinated response to the financial meltdown facing almost all world economies, Brown’s spokesman confirmed.
The two leaders were expected to hammer out more details of proposed reforms of the financial system ahead of crunch summits of European and then world leaders to address the downturn.
Their meeting coincided with the announcement of up to Pnds 4 billion (Dlrs 6 bn) in EU loans for small and medium-sized UK firms hit by the credit crunch as part of a massive Europe-wide emergency help package.
Brown held talks in Paris with French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday and is also due to make a four-day trip to the Persian Gulf for talks with oil producing countries.
The meetings come ahead of European leaders gathering in Paris on November 7 to prepare their approach to a larger-scale summit in Washington on November 15 which will bring together the world’s 20 biggest economies.