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Bush to host world summit on financial crisis

  • Story Highlights
  • Summit may be first of many to discuss strategies for global prosperity
  • Bush says world leaders must worker together, resist "financial isolationism"
  • Sarkozy says the global financial crisis needs "worldwide solution"
  • South Korea announces $100 billion bailout, state-run media say
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush announced Saturday that he will host the first of what could be several summits of world leaders to discuss the global response to the financial crisis.

"It is essential that we work together because we're in this crisis together," Bush said at Camp David, Maryland, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Union President Jose Manuel Barroso.

"Together we will work to modernize our financial systems," Bush said. "We must resist the temptation of financial isolationism."

Bush said the summit would include developed and developing nations from around the world.

No date was set, though a White House statement said the gathering would be held in the United States "soon after" the November 4 general election.

Sarkozy emphasized the need to bring Asian states into the discussions.

"We must make haste, because we must stabilize the marketplace," he said. "This is a worldwide crisis, so therefore we must find a worldwide solution." Video Watch Bush and Sarkozy discuss the global financial crisis »

The summit will seek to establish reform measures to "assure global prosperity in the future" and would be the first in a possible series of such meetings designed to implement the measures.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto told reporters it would be "too ambitious" to handle all the issues facing the massive financial crisis in a single summit.

Last week, European countries acted quickly to prop up their banking systems, promising billions of euros in loan guarantees and billions more to invest in troubled banks. Sarkozy alone pledged to pour 360 billion euros into the French banking system.

On Friday, Germany's upper house of Parliament unanimously voted to adopt a $670.7 billion stabilization package for the country's economy. Video Watch how the crisis is affecting emerging markets »

The Swiss government announced Thursday that it would invest $5.3 billion into banking giant UBS to strengthen its capital base. The Swiss National Bank will also give UBS a $54 billion loan to create a stabilization fund.

Singapore said Thursday that it will guarantee $102 billion worth of bank deposits for more than two years. Earlier, Hong Kong moved to protect its deposits.

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The South Korean government announced a package of foreign currency payment guarantees worth $100 billion for domestic banks to help stabilize the nation's volatile financial markets, state-run media reported Sunday.

The government will guarantee the payment of all foreign currency loans raised by Korean lenders abroad until June for a period of three years, the Yonhap news agency said.

CNN correspondent Kathleen Koch contributed to this report.

All About Financial MarketsEuropean CommissionNicolas SarkozyGermany

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