Amman - Pan-Arab financial institutions and lending agencies opened a two-day meeting Wednesday to look into the global financial crisis and review strategies for the future.

Finance ministers, central bank governors and the heads of the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund and the Arab Institution for Investment Guarantee are taking part in the talks at the Dead Sea resort.

Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf told participants Arab countries needed to im prove cooperation in order to "to address the spillovers of the world financial crisis on Arab economies".

"We are urged to take the suitable steps for shoring up the potential of our financial institutions and developing our supervision on financial sectors," al-Assaf said.

"Arab countries look forward to see Arab financial establishments enhance their contribution to the Arab economic and social development and spur Arab economic integration," he added.

He said Saudi Arabia was coordinating efforts with other Arab states "to develop the performance of the joint Arab financial institutions and promote their role through the adoption of blueprints that seek to bolster their safety and strengthen their financial positions."

The Saudi minister referred to the huge surplus petrodollars accumulated by Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich Gulf countries over the past two decades, which could be used for the bail-out plans in Arab countries.

However, international bodies estimate that sovereign funds owned by oil-rich Arab countries and Arab stock markets lost about 1 trillion dollars since the eruption of the global financial crisis in September 2008.(dpa)