New Delhi, September 23
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today called for carrying forward the process of governance reform of international financial institutions to give greater voice and representation to under-represented countries.
In a statement prior to his departure for the USA to attend the G-20 Summit at Pittsburgh, he also stated that India would like to see a continuous increase in the capital base of multilateral development banks to finance massive infrastructure needs of emerging markets.
The Prime Minister, who is accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and National Security Adviser MK Narayanan, hoped the summit would send a strong message against protectionism in all its forms, whether trade in goods, services, investment or financial flows.
Noting that this was the third summit of G-20 leaders in less
than a year, Manmohan Singh said this reflected the seriousness which the member nations attached not just to the recovery of the global economy and financial system, but also to a recovery that was coordinated and enduring.
The steps taken by the G-20 to augment resources of multilateral development banks have led to substantial stepping up of World Bank lending to India. He said the G-20 summits in Washington and London were convened at the height of global economic crisis and, therefore, focused on the urgent and the immediate. The global economy and financial markets have shown a distinct improvement since then, but the world was still not out of the woods.
Emphasising that it was important for India to engage in the management of the world economy since it had a lot at stake, and a lot to contribute, the PM said New Delhi approached the September 24-25 Pittsburgh summit with a sense of confidence.
“Our growth is primarily driven by domestic demand, our savings rate is robust and the external sector has exhibited resilience. Capital flows, especially portfolio flows, have started picking up, and we remain an attractive investment destination,” he added.
The summit, he said, was expected to focus on medium and long-term issues such as a framework for sustainable and balanced growth, strengthening the international financial regulatory system, reforming the mandate mission and governance of the IMF and development banks, strengthening support for the most vulnerable, an open global economy and energy and climate change.
Underlining India’s interest in seeing the earliest possible return to growth and stabilisation of the banking and financial sectors in advanced economies as this directly affected the country’s exports, capital flows and investment, he said, “We would like to see a continuous increase in the capital base of multilateral development banks to finance massive infrastructure needs of emerging markets.”
The G-20 process was a continuing one and it was in India’s interest to ensure that it succeeded in its short-term and long-term objectives, he added.
