Indian PM to press G-20 to desist from protectionism

New Delhi, Mar 30 (PTI) Concerned over protectionist
steps taken by some countries in the wake of economic crisis,
India will press the world's developed countries at the
upcoming G-20 Summit to desist from trade barriers and ensure
that flow of funds for development do not suffer.

At the Summit of developed and major developing
countries on Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is
expected to underline the point that countries should not
resort to protectionism to tackle their immediate problem of
major economic crisis since World War II.

Briefing reporters on the Prime Minister's visit,
Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon that India expected the
London Summit to come out with clear and strong guidelines on
measures for recovery of global economy and reform of the
international financial institutions.

"Individually countries would also agree on stimulus
packages for economic recovery. The one area we would like the
progress is in the area of protectionism. We have seen some
countries have taken steps which we see as protectionist," he
said, adding India does not see as a remedy for the current
situation.

The other issue on which India would like progress would
be that the amount of resources available to international
banks for development do not suffer as also the manner of
spreading it.

The Summit, second since the global financial crisis
started in the middle of last year, will be attended among
others by US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister
Gordan Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

Menon said like in the first Summit in November last in
Washington, the conference is expected to come out with a
declaration enlisting measures to tackle the current
situation.

Already, he said, there has been shrinkage in global
trade because of the protectionist barriers in the wake of
meltdown, which has affected India.

"There should be no protectionism. That will be
suicidal," he said citing the experience of the great
depression of 1930s.

Rather, Menon said, regulatory mechanisms needed to be
made transparent and effective to address the problem of
collapse of financial institutions.

"Unless we act together, we are not going to solve the
problem of this magnitude. May be we have different tactics
but till we have common objectives, the problem cannot be
addressed. None of us can do it alone," he said.

Asked whether the Prime Minister would raise the issue
of repatriation of illegal funds parked by Indians in Swiss
banks, Menon said the issue has already been discussed and
India would like to press for transparency in their
functioning. PTI AKK
SAK
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