Reserve currency debate likely at G8-Flaherty

OTTAWA, July 3 (Reuters) - Global reserve currencies will likely be discussed at upcoming international meetings, said Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, amid talk of hopes for diversifying the international currency system.

"I would expect it to be a topic of discussion once again," Flaherty told reporters on Friday on a conference call from Chile where he is attending the Finance Ministers of the Americas meeting.

But he declined to say whether the issue would be addressed in the communique after the Group of Eight summit next week.

China has asked to debate proposals for a new global reserve currency at next week's G8 summit in Italy and the issue could be referred to briefly in the summit statement, G8 sources told Reuters earlier this week. [ID:nL1293071] (Reporting by Randall Palmer and Louise Egan, writing by Ka Yan Ng; editing by Rob Wilson)