With less than five weeks until the London Summit, high-level meetings of Southeast Asian and European leaders over the weekend have discussed their regions’ responses to the global financial crisis.

The 14th annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ended on Sunday after issuing a statement on the region's priorities for tackling the crisis. The heads of state and heads of government of the 10 member nations met in Thailand, the current holder of the ASEAN chairmanship which has been invited to participate in the London Summit to represent the ASEAN countries.

The statement said the leaders agreed on the need for proactive and decisive policy actions to restore market confidence and ensure continued financial stability – including coordinated expansionary macroeconomic policies, expansion of regional cooperation for infrastructure development and 'bold and urgent' reform of the international financial system. They reaffirmed their commitment to standing firm against protectionism and to refrain from introducing and raising new trade barriers.

This week, Gordon Brown will travel to the United States to discuss the world economy with Barack Obama at their first meeting since President Obama’s inauguration on 3 March. The newly elected President this week entered the London Summit debate with a clear and public commitment to work with other countries to tackle the crisis. In his keynote address to a joint session of Congress on 24th February, President Obama highlighted coordination between the members of the G20 as a key response to the crisis.

He said: 'We are working with the nations of the G-20 to restore confidence in our financial system, avoid the possibility of escalating protectionism, and spur demand for American goods in markets across the globe. For the world depends on us to have a strong economy, just as our economy depends on the strength of the world's. As we stand at this crossroads of history, the eyes of all people in all nations are once again upon us - watching to see what we do with this moment; waiting for us to lead.'