Le Duc Thuy, head of the Vietnamese delegation, pointed out that governments already have begun to cooperate regionally and warned against protectionism.

"We share the concerns that the crisis may trigger, on the one hand, the reemergence of protectionism and, on the other hand, demand for excessive liberalization without taking into account the different levels of development among countries," he said.

"Vietnam is in the process of deepening international integration and has been making efforts to fulfill its World Trade Organization commitments and enhance trade and investment cooperation under and inter-regional frameworks," he added.

Vietnam was seeking "proposals in action roadmaps and necessary mechanism for improving the efficiency of the UN agencies so that they can better help developing countries," Thuy said.

Kenneth Baugh, deputy prime minister of Jamaica, was able to encourage assistance with a little sugar-coating.

"Positive spin-offs can be effectively realized from partnership between developing and developed countries," he said.

"The developing world provides a huge potential market if its purchasing power can be increased. Assistance by the developed world should not be narrowly viewed in benevolent terms, but more widely as a good business strategy to expand the markets of the developed world and help expedite global recovery," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2009)