The poor nations of the world have asked for financial aid to weather the global recession on the first day of a UN summit on the economic meltdown.
They called on developed countries for help, saying they are victims of a crisis they did not cause.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon supported the plea, saying the developed world should mobilize trillions of dollars for poorer nations.
An outline blueprint has been agreed on what might be done to help.
The UN chief warned that the impact of the crisis could last for years. Russia's Finance Minister Alexey Kudrin, attending the summit, agrees:
“Today it's clear that the crisis is lingering. It doesn't mean that in three months it will improve and in a year we will have a cloudless situation. We will be moving out of this crisis for several years. We should live in a more moderate way in spending money, making investments. We should consider our resources. We shouldn't take any reckless decisions,” said Kudrin.