PM to make debut at ASEM Summit, economic turmoil tops agenda

Anil K Joseph

Beijing, Oct 24 (PTI) European and Asian leaders,
including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday initiated
discussions to find a coordinated global response to stem the
financial turmoil and the spectre of recession sweeping the
world.

Singh, who arrived here last night from Tokyo to attend
the 7th Asia-Europe Meeting (A.S.E.M.) Summit, said he hoped
the meeting will come out with a solution to the many global
problems triggered by the US credit crunch.

"This is the first time I am attending the A.S.E.M. as
Prime Minister. I sincerely hope that this meeting of minds
between Europe and Asia will produce a solution to many global
problems including the international financial crisis," Singh
said on his arrival.

Earlier, in Tokyo, Singh, an eminent economist, had said
that the world was facing "multiple challenges".

"The spectre of recession in the global economy, coming
as it does in the wake of the steep rises of energy and food
prices, threatens to disrupt the rhythm of economic
development in many developing countries," he said.

Developing countries like India are also affected by the
crisis and have to be part of the solution, he had stressed.

"We cannot afford to risk the gains we have made in the
last few years. Nor do we wish to remain vulnerable to
infirmities in international surveillance, supervision and
regulatory mechanisms in the future," the Prime Minister had
said.

The same subject was brought up repeatedly at a series of
leaders' meetings held here Thursday.

"We sink together or we swim together," European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told reporters here.

"We need a coordinated global response to reform the
global financial system. We are living in unprecedented times,
and we need unprecedented levels of global coordination," the
former Portuguese prime minister said.

"The latest events have made clear that the current model
of financial regulation and supervision needs to be revamped
at international level. We need Asia to be on board," he said.

"We hope leaders from Asian and European countries will
take this opportunity to fully exchange views on how to
strengthen coordination, cooperation in dealing with this
issue. And we hope their discussion will be fruitful," said
Barroso.

Host China has also said that the current world economic
situation is grim and complicated.

"The emerging markets and developing countries are
confronted with financial risks, weak foreign demand and
mounting inflation," Chinese President Hu Jintao said.

Launched in 1996 as an informal dialogue mechanism,
A.S.E.M. now includes 45 members, a body representing over 50
percent of the world's gross domestic product.

The European side is represented by 27 European Union
nations and the European Commission. The Asian members count
10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(A.S.E.A.N.) plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Pakistan,
Mongolia and the A.S.E.A.N. Secretariat.

With the world preoccupied with the financial turmoil,
the two-day summit will also draw the leaders' attention to
other topics of energy, climate change and food security.

China will put forward a proposal on building an eco-city
network in Asia, while France, which holds the rotating E.U.
presidency, will present a statement on climate change, Xinhua
news agency reported. PTI A.K.J.