British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday encouraged China and oil-rich Persian Gulf countries to contribute to a larger global bailout package through the International Monetary Fund.

Brown said the fund has to be established quickly. He said the fund needs more than the $250 billion US that has been set aside to assist countries.

"We must act now, we must set up the fund as quickly as possible," Brown said in London, prior to meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris.

Brown said that countries with the biggest budget surpluses could do the most to help a bailout fund.

The British prime minister said he will go to the Gulf region Saturday for meetings, and planned to talk with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao this week via telephone.

The IMF bailout money would go to support countries rocked by the global economic crisis.

Germany's foreign minister said Pakistan needs a loan from the IMF within a week to buttress its financial situation.

"I can only hope that the decision is taken quickly, because a loan in six months or six weeks will not help, but only if it is approved within the next six days," Frank-Walter Steinmeier said after meeting with Pakistani officials in Islamabad.

"Then one can perhaps avoid the most difficult situation in Pakistan," Steinmeier said.

Pakistan's economic situation has been hurt by high oil prices and failing foreign investment in the country, which has left it with a balance of payments deficit. That gap is causing its foreign currency reserves to dwindle and left it at risk of defaulting on its international debt.