The various international institutions and fora which are involved in international policy dialogue on macroeconomic and financial affairs have strived over the past ten years to better integrate new players from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside those already involved. Let me briefly take some examples. One of the most important of these fora is the Group of Seven or G7.
Finance ministers and central bank governors of the seven most industrialised nations of the world, including of course Japan, meet several times a year to discuss issues of mutual interest. My experience is that the G7 meetings have proven an invaluable forum for cooperation on macroeconomic policies and for giving, when appropriate, signals to market participants.