Growing support for reform of global institutions: PM

There is growing support for the demand for reforms of the global governance institutions  and that it should start with reform of the UN Security Council, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today.       

He added there is also a growing support for the view that the Security Council membership should be enlarged both in the permanent category members as well as in the non-category members in which India has a rightful claim to be a member.       

Winding up his four-day visit to Italy, where he attended the summit of G-8, G-5 leaders, he told reporters accompanying him on his trip to Italy that countries like India have a legitimate claim to be considered for permanent membership of the Council.       

But, he said, international relations in the final sense were power relations. "And nobody gives up power willingly.  Those who have the power want to hold on so I don't think an easy solution is in sight.  It will  have to be a long drawn out struggle and I do believe that we have every reason to feel that in the long run our views will prevail."

Singh added there was today growing support at the international structures and systems which were put in place soon after the end of the World War II that they were not not reflective of the current realities of the global structures and global equation.       

Referring to the G-8, G-5 Summit meetings the prime minister added, that discussions were done on global issues like Climate Change and sustainable development and the elimination of hunger through food security, on trade and the dangers of protectionism.

Replying to a question, he said  India had a strong interest in the success of the multilateral trade negotiations. Not being a member of any regional grouping, he added India favoured a rule-based, liberal multilateral trading system to realise development ambitions.

India, he said, had an obligation to contribute to the success of the Doha Round of trade negotiations. He hoped the world would recognise that the Doha started with the promise of making development the centrepiece of global trade negotiations.       

"If those commitments are honoured, I don't think there would be problems in reaching the satisfactory outcome of the Doha round."

On Climate Change, the Prime Minister said India was not not able to undertake quantified emission reduction targets but it also made clear that as citizens of the global economy ir has an obligation to do its bit to control emissions.      

Therefore, all countries have an obligation to be prepared to depart from busines as usual, he said.      

In his own statement at the Summit, Singh said India was quite alive to the dangers of climate change.      

"In fact, we recognise climate change is already taking place.  We recognise our responsibility to do more by way of mitigation as well as by way of adaptation."

"We are willing to do more provided there are credible arrnagements to provide both additional financial support as well as technological transfers from developed to developing countries so that green sustainable development can really become an effective instrument of strengthening the atmosphere to tackle climate change,"  he said.