TEXT-Joint statement of ASEAN+3 finance ministers

MADRID, May 4 (Reuters) - East Asian finance ministers agreed on Sunday to upgrade to an $80 billion currency swap scheme to fight regional financial crises, a deal taking them a step closer to creating a full scale Asian monetary fund.

Following is a statement released by the ministers at the end of their meeting:

The Joint Ministerial Statement

Of the 11th ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers' Meeting

4 May 2008, Madrid, Spain

Introduction

1. We, the Finance Ministers of ASEAN, China, Japan and Korea (ASEAN+3), convened our eleventh meeting in Madrid, Spain, under the co-chairmanship of H.E. Vu Van Ninh, Minister of Finance of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and H.E. Fukushiro Nukaga, Minister of Finance of Japan.

2. We exchanged views on regional economic and financial developments and policies and reviewed the progress of regional financial cooperation initiatives, including the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralisation, the Asian Bond Markets Initiative (ABMI) and the ASEAN+3 Research Group. We also explored ways to further enhance these initiatives.