Asia not immune to euro zone woes: IMF chief

Tokyo: Asia clearly continues to drive global economic recovery, but if strains in the euro zone worsen the region will be negatively affected via trade and financial sector links, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said on Saturday.

Lagarde was speaking at a news conference after a meeting with Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi.

Before arriving in Tokyo, Lagarde visited Moscow and Beijing, in a bid to convince the emerging powers to chip in some of their vast foreign exchange reserves to boost bailout funds for the euro zone.

European leaders are scrambling to avert a euro zone meltdown with Italy moving to approve austerity measures amid global calls for quick action to contain the spread of the debt crisis.