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G5 leaders urge action from G8

By Sun Shangwu (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-10 07:49

L'AQUILA, Italy: G5 leaders - from the group of five emerging economies comprising China, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa - Thursday called for closer international cooperation in the fight against global warming and for support in dealing with the financial crisis.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, South African President Jacob Zuma, Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo attended the meeting, which was held parallel to the summit of the Group of Eight (G8) that started Wednesday in the quake-stricken Italian city of L'Aquila.

State Councilor Dai Bingguo (right) and leaders from India, Mexico and South Africa show off sports jerseys given to them by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (center) in L'Aquila, Italy, on Wednesday. [Photo by Sun Shangwu/China Daily]

Dai, who represented President Hu Jintao after the president returned to China following unrest in Urumqi, said the financial crisis had hit economic development throughout the world - but he said the impact was greatest in developing countries.

Economic development was fundamental for developing nations looking to solve a slew of problems, he said in urging the international community to make a contribution.

Dai asked the five nations to make efforts in the following fields:

Pushing the international community to respect developing countries' choice of economic development model;

Pushing for the reform of international economic, financial and trade systems and increasing developing countries' voice, representation and role in decision-making;

Pushing developed countries to follow up on promises to increase aid, reduce debts, open up markets and transfer technology; and

Pushing the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and regional development banks to assist developing nations in maintaining financial stability and promoting economic growth.

Dai called for closer cooperation among the five countries in the fight against the financial crisis.

"We should push the Doha round of negotiations to make progress as soon as possible, oppose protectionism in any form and promote economic recovery in the world," he said.

Joint efforts should also be made to strengthen global economic governance of financial markets, said Dai. And the five countries should take positive steps to handle the challenge of climate change.

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"The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol should be the main channel (for addressing climate change)," said Dai, adding that the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" must be observed.

He also urged developed nations to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and to provide technological, financial and capability-building support to developing nations.

"We must make joint efforts to make the Copenhagen conference a success," he noted.

Dai also highlighted cooperation in non-traditional security - a subject covering food security, energy security, threats to public health and the risk of natural disasters.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon said emerging economies should play important roles in global issues and developing nations should deal with the problems of climate change and food security.

Brazilian President Lula said the G5 mechanism was an important platform for mitigating the financial crisis. And he, too, called for strengthened international financial supervision and opposition to trade protectionism.

"We cannot discuss issues like food security and climate change without keeping the economic crisis in mind. The developing countries have suffered the most because of these issues," said Lula.

Indian Prime Minister Singh said deterioration of the global economy had caused more severe poverty. And he, too, noted that the financial crisis was closely linked to food security and energy security.

"We recognize our obligations to preserve our environment. But climate change cannot be addressed by perpetuating the poverty of the developing countries. We need to evolve a strategy of growth that brings about a higher standard of living without harming the environment," Singh said.

South African President Jacob Zuma said African countries had suffered most in the financial crisis. Global measures must be taken to deal with the crisis, he said. He also called on developed countries to boost support of developing countries.

After the meeting, the leaders issued the G5 declaration, which was shared on the eve of their meeting with the G8 - which includes the US, Britain, Russia, Germany, France, Canada, Japan and hosts Italy.