Bush to host world summit on economic crisis

US President George W Bush plans to host a summit of world leaders in the near future to discuss the global response to the financial crisis, according to a senior official tonight.

Word of the impending announcement came at the Camp David presidential retreat where European leaders are lobbying the president to hold a summit by year’s end.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and European Commission President Jose Manual Barroso are trying to convince Mr Bush that now is a good opportunity to tighten and better co-ordinate control of the financial markets, in response to the economic crisis that has shaken markets around the globe.

The summit will focus on ideas to prevent a crisis from recurring in the future and to preserve the free market system.

The president has backed the steps European nations have taken to stem the economic crisis, and is in favour of a meeting in the near future of the Group of Eight industrialised powers and other emerging economies like China and India.

The White House says Mr Bush, who has just three months left in office, wants to listen to a broad range of ideas, not just from Europe, but from Asia and developing countries.