Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, is visiting the Gulf states to urge them to help stabilise the global economy in the midst of economic turmoil.

Brown will visit Saudi Arabia on Saturday, before travelling to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The British prime minister has called on countries with large resources, such as the Gulf states and China, to contribute to an international fund aimed at helping smaller economies.

"They are in a position, as states with significant wealth reserves, that they can contribute to refinancing the stability of the global financial system," his spokesman told reporters on Friday.

"It's in everyone's interests that there is stability and, over the long term, sustainable growth in global markets."

IMF facility

Earlier this week, Britain and Germany backed the creation of an International Monetary Fund facility to help struggling economies withstand the credit crisis.

But the IMF would need more funds to operate such a facility.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan, the UAE foreign minister, said on Thursday that Gulf Arab states were willing to make all the necessary efforts to protect the international economy.

"There is nothing they [the West] can give in return as a business transaction. They don't have enough to give, or they are not willing to give any economic collateral for any aid that they get," he said.

"I think Gordon Brown's trip will be an exercise in futility."

Brown is also likely to raise his concerns over plans by oil producing countries to reduce output to halt falling crude prices.

"Over the long term global demand for oil is increasing and so the long-term price is likely to increase," Brown's spokesman said.

"What we want to avoid are the sudden sharp increases that we've seen in recent months."

Oil prices have dropped from a record high of $147 a barrel in July to less than $70 in recent weeks