Communique from G20 meeting in Scotland

ST ANDREWS, Scotland (Reuters) - Following is the text of the communique issued by finance ministers and central bank governors at their meeting in St. Andrews, Scotland.

1. We, the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, met at a critical point in the recovery from the crisis to deliver the work remitted to us at Pittsburgh.

2. Economic and financial conditions have improved following our coordinated response to the crisis. However, the recovery is uneven and remains dependent on policy support, and high unemployment is a major concern. To restore the global economy and financial system to health, we agreed to maintain support for the recovery until it is assured.

3. To underscore our new approach to economic cooperation, we launched the G20 Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth, adopted a detailed timetable and initiated a new consultative mutual assessment process to evaluate whether our policies will collectively deliver our agreed objectives. We will be assisted in our assessment by IMF and in our assessment by IMF and World Bank analyses and the input of other international organisations as appropriate, including the FSB, OECD, MDBs, ILO, WTO and UNCTAD. We agreed a compact:

-- to set out our national and regional policy frameworks, programmes and projections by the end of January 2010;

-- to conduct the initial phase of our cooperative mutual assessment process, supported by IMF and World Bank analyses, of the collective consistency of our national and regional policies with our shared objectives, taking into account our institutional arrangements, in April 2010;

-- to develop a basket of policy options to deliver those objectives, for Leaders to consider at their next Summit in June 2010; and,

-- to refine our mutual assessment and develop more specific policy recommendations for Leaders at their Summit in November 2010.

4. Our first challenge in using the Framework will be the transition from crisis response to stronger, more sustainable and balanced growth, consistent with our goals of sustainable public finances; price stability; stable, efficient and resilient financial systems; employment creation; and poverty reduction. While we will continue to provide support for the economy until the recovery is secured, we also commit to develop further our strategies for managing the withdrawal from our extraordinary macroeconomic and financial support measures. We agreed to cooperate and coordinate, taking into account any spillovers caused by our strategies, and consulting and sharing information where possible. To ensure credibility, our plans will be based on prudent assumptions and communicated promptly and transparently. We agreed to implement our plans flexibly, taking full account of variations in the pace of economic recovery and market conditions across countries and regions, and the complex interactions between different policy areas. The IMF and FSB will continue to assist us in reviewing strategies and implementation, identifying areas where coordination is particularly important and providing assessments of their collective impact on the global economy and the financial system. We welcome the work of the IMF and FSB to develop principles for exit.