‘Reform global finance’

India, Brazil and South Africa have called for a new international initiative to “bring about structural reforms in the world’s financial system”, reports Tushar Srivastava.

India, Brazil and South Africa have called for a new international initiative to “bring about structural reforms in the world’s financial system”.

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“The new initiative must take into account the fact that ethics must also apply to the economy; that the crisis would not be overcome with palliative measures and that the solutions adopted must be global and ensure the participation of developing countries,” the three leaders said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and Brazilian President Lula Inacio Lula da Silva said in a joint declaration that the “explosion of new financial instruments, unaccompanied by credible and systemic regulation, has resulted amongst others in a major crisis of confidence for which those responsible should be held accountable and liable.”

“We agreed on some ideas to tackle them (international financial crisis and the rise in energy and food prices) and to collaborate closely as the international community grapples to find satisfactory solutions. To this end, we have decided to establish a coordination mechanism,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

The other issues discussed during the third India-Brazil-South Africa, or IBSA, summit were Security Council reforms, disarmament, civil nuclear cooperation. The July attack on the Indian Embassy in Kabul and the continued attacks on aid workers, civilians, Afghan and international forces by the Taliban and other insurgent groups came for strong condemnation.