Emphasising
that the global situation presents a mixed picture, Dr. Singh said
responses to these challenges by different countries may be different,
"but there is much common interest that binds us together".
"We
are all affected by the global economic slowdown, the volatility in
food and energy prices, the challenge of reconciling growth with
environmental objectives, the political uncertainty in West Asia and the
rise of terrorism and extremism."
“Our responses to these challenges may be different, but there is much common interest that binds us together," he said.
He
cited ten specific issues which he believed concerned all the member
countries including creating jobs, energy and food security, revival of
global growth, breathing life to Doha round of trade negotitions and
facilitation of funds for infrastructure development.
Commenting
on India's need to generate 8-10 million jobs every year in the next
decade, Dr. Singh said India would like to learn from the experiences of
other BRICS countries on how they are dealing with these problems.
He
also sought "room to cooperate internationally" on issues like energy,
food and water security, saying "it is clear that constraints such as
the availability of energy and food for countries that account for more
than 40% of the world population can impede the entire story."
"Water
is another critical area of scarcity which needs much greater attention
than it has received thus far. We have much to learn from each other in
how to handle these problems, and there is also room to cooperate
internationally," Dr. Singh said.
He
also urged the member countries as members of G-20 that they must
together ensure that appropriate solutions are found to help Europe help
itself and to ensure policy coordination that can revive global growth.
"As
large and diverse economies, we should make a special effort to find
ways to exploit intra-BRICS complementarities. We should promote greater
interaction amongst our business communities. Issues such as easier
business visas must be prioritised. As large trading countries, BRICS
have a strong interest in removing barriers to trade and investment
flows and avoiding protectionist measures," Dr. Singh said.
"To
revive global demand and growth, developing countries need access to
capital, particularly for infrastructure development. We must address
the important issue of expanding the capital base of the World Bank and
other Multilateral Development Banks to enable these institutions to
perform their appropriate role in financing infrastructure development,"
Dr. Singh said.
Seeking
improvement in global governance, the Prime Minister said BRICS should
speak with one voice on important issues such as the reform of the UN
Security Council.
"BRICS
countries must also work together to address deficiencies in global
governance. Institutions of global political and economic governance
created more than six decades ago have not kept pace with the changing
world. While some progress has been made in international financial
institutions, there is lack of movement on the political side," Dr.
Singh said.
He emphasised on the need to reduce energy intensity of GDP by promoting energy efficiency and developing clean energy sources.
This
calls for greater investments in research and development, sharing of
best practices, and encouraging transfer of technology, he said.
The
BRICS nations had during their last summit in Sanya in China signed a
framework agreement to enable them to grant credit in local currencies.
Though
the BRICS countries have sharply varying political systems, they share
some common geopolitical, economic and trading interests.
BRICS
has no fixed agenda, but on certain issues like reform of the United
Nations; greater representation in Bretton Woods institutions; managing
global financial crisis and boosting intra-BRICS trade and cooperation,
they mostly have common positions.
BRICS
account for 26 per cent of the world's landmass and 42 per cent of the
global population, including India and China, two of the world's most
populous countries.
It accounts for 40 per cent of global GDP (USD 18.486 trillion) and its proportion is rapidly increasing.
The first BRICS Summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia (2009), followed by Brasilia (2010) and Sanya, China (2011).
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