Britain, France Calls For UN, World Bank, IMF Reformation

Paris, France(AHN)-In an interview published in the French broadsheet Le Monde, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said his country and France will work 'hand in hand' to reform international institutions such as the United Nations (UN), World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The statement came while French President Nicolas Sarkozy is in Britain for a two-day visit. Brown and Sarkozy have previously worked together when they were still finance ministers. According to Brown, they "have the same vision of a globalized world."

"France and Britain can therefore work hand in hand with common interests and shared values. This is the case, and you will see it in the coming weeks, of the reform of international institutions created in 1945: the UN, the World Bank, the IMF," said Brown. The said international organizations, he said, "no longer correspond to the challenges of 2008."

To recall, early this year, Brown already said in a speech while in New Delhi that the UN, WB, and the IMF no longer reflect 'the new world order'. He cited as an example WB, which according to him should become a "bank for the environment" with a greater focus on supporting environmental projects, particularly those focused on climate change. He is proposing for the creation of a global climate change fund to finance low-carbon investment and sustainable forestry programs in the world's poorest nations.