By Peter OBIORA InvestAdvocate

Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Group of 20 Nations Saturday said it will not embark on currency war; but rather resolved to achieve a lasting reduction in global imbalances through joint actions.

This is contained in a Press Statement from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after the conclusion of the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in Moscow and made available to www.investadvocateng.com.

The Joint actions would avoid persistent Exchange Rate misalignments, and the group’s commitment to refrain from competitive devaluation, to resist protectionism in all forms, and to keep Markets open.

According to Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director (MD), it was heartening to see that the G-20 reaffirmed its commitment to move more rapidly toward more Market-determined Exchange Rate Systems and Exchange Rate Flexibility to reflect underlying fundamentals.

“As emphasized by the G-20, global growth is still weak, with unemployment remaining unacceptably high in many countries. The weak global performance derives from policy uncertainty, private deleveraging, continued fiscal drag, as well as insufficient progress on rebalancing global demand. Implementation of the financial reform agenda to build a more resilient financial system remains a priority. Credible medium-term fiscal plans also need to be in place to provide flexibility while growth is more fully restored” Lagarde said.

The G-20 affirmed that global growth is still weak, with unemployment remaining unacceptably high in many countries and the weak global performance derives from policy uncertainty, private deleveraging, continued fiscal drag, as well as insufficient progress on rebalancing global demand.

Also, the G-20 said implementation of the financial reform agenda to build a more resilient financial system remains a priority. Credible medium-term fiscal plans also need to be in place to provide flexibility while growth is more fully restored.

“We think that talk of currency wars is overblown. People did talk about their currency worries. The good news is that the G-20 responded with cooperation rather than conflict today” she said.

Lagarde said she welcome the G-20 support for completing the 2010 quota reform agreement, and urged countries to quickly ratify the measures necessary to implement this important agreement.

She further affirmed that the G-20 continues to demonstrate its interest in global economic cooperation through the IMF. “I know that the 188 member countries of the Fund are committed to reaching   agreement on the 15th General Review of Quotas, including a new quota formula, by January 2014” the IMF MD said.

Lagarde said many of the key issues discussed Saturday will be reviewed at the Fund’s International Monetary and Financial Committee’s spring meeting in April, and at the next G-20 ministerial meeting, which will take place at roughly the same time in Washington. “Until then, it is crucial that all countries continue efforts to strengthen global recovery” she said.