Speeches / Statements

Intervention by EAM at the Ministerial Segment of the XV Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement

13/07/2009

Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,

I would at the outset like to offer my congratulations to the distinguished Foreign Minister of Egypt on his election as Chair of this meeting. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank our Egyptian hosts for their warm hospitality. It is a matter of particular satisfaction to see the Movement return to one of its co-founders, Egypt, a country with which we share particularly close and friendly historical ties.

I also place on record my sincere appreciation to the distinguished Foreign Minister of Cuba, his Government and people, for their excellent stewardship of the Movement for the past three years.

The themes of our debate are significant and timely. All of us are deeply afflicted by the global economic and financial crisis and other challenges and international solidarity is essential to address them.

We are 118 countries. Together, we represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations membership and comprise about 55 percent of the world population.

Our solidarity is crucial for our development and progress. Our problems are common. They range from poverty alleviation, eradicating hunger and deprivation, tackling pandemics, and raising literacy levels. Our responses to them are naturally varied given our differing situations. Many of them need international cooperation and an enabling environment for countries to succeed in these tasks. Solidarity within our Movement and a balanced approach should be our guiding principles.

Nowhere is international solidarity for peace and development most relevant than in combating terrorism. Terrorism threatens democracy and democratic values. It aims to destroy lives and reverse development. It is also a threat to international peace and security. International solidarity and solidarity within NAM are necessary in order to combat this scourge effectively. We call upon MAM members to unequivocally condemn terrorism; no cause or reasoning can be used to justify such acts. In this context, the early adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on Terrorism being discussed in the United Nations is an immediate imperative.

Mr Chairman

India's solidarity with the Palestinian people is well known. We continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.

Mr Chairman

The current economic crisis has neither originated in the developing world nor are developing countries responsible for it. However, it threatens to reverse the developmental gains made by us over the past decades. Its adverse impact is aggravated because of the food and fuel crisis. As a consequence, the millennium developmental goals are now a far greater challenge.

A global crisis, by definition, requires global solutions. The first requirement is to revive the global economy, boosting demand, and revitalizing credit flows. Counter-cyclical stimulus measures are also essential. Most developing countries need help in implementing such measures.

The decline in capital flows to developing countries must be urgently reversed through increased multilateral and bilateral flows as well as stepping up official development assistance. Developed countries have both the capacity and obligation to assist. They must step forward to take urgent action and fulfil their commitment of 0.7 per cent of their GDP as ODA. While these short-term measures are critical for recovery, we must address the longer-term imperative of reforming the structures of global governance. Without this, the root cause for the current economic and financial crisis will remain unaddressed.

We must begin the process of completing reform of the Bretton Woods Institutions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) needs to improve its surveillance function, lending role, as well as reform its governance. The World Bank needs to increase substantially its lending, improve its capital adequacy as well as enable developing countries to access required levels of finance to support recovery efforts.

We also need better surveillance and regulation of financial markets. An effective early warning system is needed to identify risk accumulation. However, such an early warning mechanism should be non-intrusive.

Mr. Chairman

The world is facing a crisis which affects the developing countries asymmetrically. We need to harness our collective energies to counter the crisis. South-South Cooperation is extremely important at this hour. We need a collective approach within the context of South-South Cooperation. India stands ready to contribute strengthening such cooperation.

India has put in place several measures to counter the current crisis, including, enhancing public spending significantly to over 3% of our GDP. Our monetary policies targets are to maintain adequate liquidity position while ensuring delivery of credit remains on track. Our banks are well regulated, capitalized, and profitable. All these measures have helped India to maintain an estimated 7 per cent rate of growth per annum despite the current crisis.

Mr. Chairman,

India's commitment and solidarity with NAM is firm and abiding. We look forward to the Summit outcome at Sharm el Sheikh.

Thank You