U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called here Wednesday for tougher sanctions against Syria to hasten political change in the Arab country.

Addressing the second meeting of the Friends of the Syrian People International Working Group on Sanctions, which drew representatives from 55 nations, the U.S. point man on international sanctions said sanctions alone could not bring about the change sought by Washington and its allies, "but sanctions can play an important role."

The one-day event, co-chaired with the governments of Turkey and Qatar, focused on ways to further strengthen international sanctions against the Syrian government.

"Strong sanctions, effectively implemented, aggressively enforced, can help deprive the Syrian regime of the resources it needs to sustain itself and to continue its repression of the Syrian people," Geithner said.

"We, the United States, hope that all responsible countries will soon join in taking appropriate economic actions against the Syrian regime, including, if necessary, Chapter 7 action in the U.N. Security Council, as called for by the Arab League last weekend," he said, referring to U.N. resolutions that authorize actions including the use of force.

The first meeting of the International Working Group on Sanctions against Syria was held in Paris in April.