09/07/2005

I have just comeback from United Kingdom after participating in the outreach session with the Group of Eight industrialised countries.

As you know, this visit was overshadowed by the tragic incident that caused so much misery and sufferings to the people of London and this is a vivid demonstration that terrorism is a global phenomenon. We have of course suffered from this scourge for nearly twenty-twenty five years. This incident took place at the time of the meeting of Group of Eight and five developing countries, is a demonstration that all of us have to work together to evolve a collective strategy to free the world of the scourge of terrorism.

I participated in the meeting of the Group of Five that is ourselves, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and China. These five counties met before the common meeting of the Group of Eight. There is consensus among the five countries, the leading emerging economies as to what we should be saying and doing in international fora for the reform of the international trading system, for the international system for the transfer of the resources to the developing countries and the transfer of technologies from rich to poor countries.

At the meeting with the Group of Eight countries, I expressed our concerns about the way international system is functioning, paying inadequate attention to the needs of poor countries. I laid emphasis on reform of the international trading system and ensuring that the forthcoming Doha round of trade negotiation becomes generally a development round. I also laid emphasis on the fact that all countries of the world have an obligation to work together to find credible ways to protect and preserve our environment and the essential life support system of our planet. But I also said that this must be done mindful of the development imperatives that the problems that we face in the management of environment cannot be resolved by perpetuating the poverty of poor developing countries. Therefore, we have to reconcile the imperative of development with the imperative of making that development sustainable. That requires action on the part of the developed countries to ensure that trading system is fair, capital transfer to developing countries are more adequate, that arrangements are made for transfer of technology of clean technologies Clean Net, to developing countries at affordable costs. I think some of these concerns are reflected in the statement issued by the Group of Eight countries.

It will be our effort to work together with other like-minded countries to ensure that our views find adequate reflection in whatever decisions are taken with regard to the management of climate change.

New Delhi
July 9, 2005