The Hindu : National : We will play active role in global response to systemic failures: Manmohan

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We will play active role in global response to systemic failures: Manmohan

Sandeep Dikshit

“This was not a crisis of our making, but we’ve had to bear its consequences”

“Slowdown in advanced economies has affected our exports”
Says climate change will be an important subject of discussion at G8

NEW DELHI: Even though the global economic crises and the climate change problem were not “of our making,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, India would actively participate in mitigating their impact and called for a concerted and well-coordinated global response to address systemic failures and stimulate the real economy.

“The global financial and economic slowdown that we are witnessing is particularly detrimental for the development objectives of developing countries such as India. This has not been a crisis of our making, but we have had to bear its consequences,” the Prime Minister said in a statement before leaving for Italy to attend the G8 Summit, to which major developing countries, including India, have been invited.

“The slowdown in the advanced economies has affected our exports, strengthened protectionist sentiments and impacted credit and capital flows. We would, therefore, like to see a concerted and well-coordinated global response to address systemic failures and to stimulate the real economy.”

Higher level of stability

In the longer run, India would like to see a much higher level of stability and sustainability in growth patterns of the developed world, and in international financial governance, Dr. Singh said.

The summit would be an occasion for projecting India’s views on major global issues relating to the world economic and financial crisis and its impact on development, food security, energy security and climate change, international trade negotiations and reforms of international institutions.

Food security, energy security and climate change were closely interlinked and would have to be approached as a single undertaking “if we are to give meaning to the concept of sustainable development,” he pointed out.

The worst-hit

Noting that climate change would be an important subject of discussion, Dr. Singh said that though developing countries were the worst affected, the phenomena was the consequence of over two centuries of industrial activity and high consumption lifestyles in the developed world.

The developed world would have to bear the historic responsibility, but India would actively participate in the international negotiations on climate change within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Bali Action Plan, he said.

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