G5 agrees to explore prospects of joint collaboration

The G-5 countries, including India have agreed to explore prospects of joint collaboration in cross border investment, research and innovation, climate change, energy and development.

Seeking to take advantage of their inherent strength, the G-5 countries, including India, have agreed to explore prospects of joint collaboration in cross border investment, research and innovation, climate change, energy and development.

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"The consensus view was that all of these challenges must be addressed from a multilateral, regional and bilateral perspective, taking into consideration the interests and capacities of different states," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other leaders from China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa said in a joint press statement after their meeting on Thursday.

The leaders reaffirmed their shared conviction that developing countries must participate more actively in the "consolidation of strategies" to deal with challenges in an increasingly inter-dependent world.

"This is not a pressure group," Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon explained on being asked whether the G-5 was gearing up to put pressure on the Group of Eight industrialised countries.