LONDON - MAJOR emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India and China told their G20 counterparts on Friday it was 'too early' to speak of an end to the global economic crisis.

'We welcome the first signs that the global economy is beginning to improve and that the worst of the crisis may be behind us,' the so-called BRIC group said in a joint statement ahead of a full meeting of G20 finance ministers.

'Despite these positive signs, it is too early to declare the end of the crisis. The global economy still faces great uncertainty, and significant risks remain to economic and financial stability.' The ministers also urged counterparts from the Group of 20 largest and fastest-emerging economies to seize the chance to change the world's economic architecture to get rid of systemic weaknesses which helped trigger the global crisis.

The two-day gathering starting on Friday will prepare the ground for a meeting of G20 leaders in Pittsburgh in the US on September 24-25.

As the recession eases, the leading economies are expected to consider withdrawing the massive state packages of financial support pumped into the economy over the past year to try to unfreeze credit markets.

But Brazil's finance minister Guido Mantega told journalists it was too early to talk of 'exit strategies'.

'The economy this year is much better after one year of anti-cyclical policies, but despite their efficiency it is not the moment to talk of withdrawing them,' he said.

'The exit should be gradual,' he added, because clawing the fiscal stimulus back too quickly 'would not send a good signal to the markets.' Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin welcomed a discussion about withdrawing the fiscal stimulus packages, but also urged caution.

'We should be talking about an exit strategy but we shouldn't be using one yet,' he said.

The BRIC ministers also agreed that the world should tighten regulation and reform international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to give emerging countries a stronger voice.

'We realise that permanent, sustainable reforms must still be implemented on multiple fronts,' the grouping said. -- AFP