November 03, 2008	Monday	Ziqa'ad 4, 1429

DOHA, Nov 2: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Sunday he expected Saudi Arabia to give more money to boost the International Monetary Fund’s ability to bail out nations hit hardest by worldwide financial crisis.

The IMF has $400 billion available to help countries struggling to stay afloat but Brown wants to increase this by hundreds of billions of dollars.

“The Saudis will I think contribute like other countries so we can have a bigger fund worldwide,” said Brown, who is on a four-day tour of oil-rich Gulf states to drum up support for his plan.

“I think people want to invest both in helping the world get through this very difficult period of time but also I think people want to work with us so we are less dependent on oil and have more stability in oil prices.” Brown spoke a day after talks with Saudi King Abdullah, who will attend a special Group of 20 summit of leading industrialised and developing nations in Washington on November 15 devoted to the unfolding crisis.

Speaking to British and Saudi business leaders on Sunday, Brown said it was in the interest of Gulf states to help other nations out in order to stop the economic “contagion” from spreading.

He went on to call for more stable oil prices to help the world economy.

Gulf states have been shaken by oil prices sliding below $60 a barrel after record highs of nearly $150 in July.—AFP