“BRICS Bank to reduce risks in emerging markets”
October 24, 2013, 5:44 am

The Indian PM (left) said political and economic power is being diffused and a multi-polar world is emerging [Getty Images]

India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has identified the BRICS Development Bank and the $100 billion Contingency Reserve Arrangement as major efforts “to support trade and investment and reduce risks in emerging markets”.

Singh said the India and China have a vital stake in preserving an open, integrated and stable global trade regime.

“We are in the midst of a significant and ongoing transformation where both political and economic power is being diffused. A multi-polar world is emerging but its contours are not yet clear,” he said.

“Protectionist sentiments in the West have increased and the global trading regime may become fragmented by regional arrangements among major countries,” he warned.

The Chinese President Xi Jinping during his meet with Singh urged that the world needs the common development of China and India.

India and China inked nine agreements yesterday including a crucial Border Defence Agreement.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry official said the agreements signed during Singh’s visit involve many long-term projects that will contribute to regional and world peace, and stability for several decades.

“China-India relations have gone far beyond bilateral scope and have global and strategic significance,” Xi said during his meeting with Singh.

In a reference to recent reports of the much-hyped American Asia pivot which seeks to “contain” China, the Indian Prime Minister said “old theories of alliances and containment are no longer relevant”.

“India and China cannot be contained and our recent history is testimony to this. Nor should we seek to contain others,” Singh said.

“We both know that the benefits of cooperation far outweigh any presumed gains from containment,” he added.

In his address to the Central Party School in Beijing, Singh also stressed on increased FDI from China.

“India plans to invest $1 trillion in infrastructure in the next five years and we would welcome China’s expertise and investment in this sector,” he said.

Singh also underlined the need for a stable, secure and prosperous Asia Pacific region.

“While both India and China are large and confident enough to manage their security challenges on their own, we can be more effective if we work together,” he said.

Xi also suggested the two most populous countries in the world should strive towards “revitalisation of oriental civilisation”.

The BRICS Post