NEW YORK - US President George W. Bush said Thursday that world leaders will 'lay the foundation for reforms' at global economic crisis talks this week but said the effort was 'too large' for just one summit.

'The leaders attending this weekend's meeting agree on a clear purpose: To address the current crisis, and lay the foundation for reforms that will help prevent a similar crisis in the future,' he said in a prepared speech.

'We also agree that this undertaking is too large to be accomplished in a single discussion. So this summit will be the first in a series,' Mr Bush said as the Group of 20 readied for Friday and Saturday talks in Washington. -- AFP