The Group of Eight (G8) finance ministers said on Saturday that they remain focused on addressing the ongoing global economic and financial crisis and try to unwind new measures to boost economic recovery.

At the second day meeting in Lecce, Italy, the finance ministers said in the final statement that the developed nations "must remain vigilant to ensure that consumer and investor confidence is fully restored and that growth is underpinned by stable financial markets and strong fundamentals."

"We reaffirm our commitment to take all necessary actions to ensure the soundness of systemically important institutions," they said.

"There are increased signs of stabilization in our economies, including a recovery of stock markets, a decline in interest rate spreads, improved business and consumer confidence, but the situation remains uncertain and significant risks remain to economic and financial stability," the minister agreed in the statement.

The ministers at their two-day meeting in southern Italy discussed the need to prepare appropriate strategies for unwinding extraordinary policy measures taken to respond to the crisis once the recovery is assured. These "exit strategies," which may vary from country to country, are essential to promote a sustainable recovery over the long term.

"We asked the IMF to undertake the necessary analytical work to assist us with this process," they said.

The ministers also agreed that the crisis has revealed the importance of strengthening joint commitment to standards of propriety, integrity and transparency.

"To address these issues in a comprehensive fashion, we agreed on the need to develop the Lecce Framework–a set of common principles and standards regarding the conduct of international business and finance – which builds on existing initiatives and lays the foundation for a stable growth path over the long term," they said.

"We are committed to working with our international partners to make progress with this initiative, with a view to reaching out to broader, including the G20 and beyond."

The G8 groups Germany, Japan, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, the United States and Russia.

(Xinhua News Agency June 14, 2009)