United Nations, Sept 20: India has demanded "full and effective" participation of the developing countries in the global economic decision-making institutions and asked them to provide a "coherent" and collective response to meet the challenge of globalisation. The greater access to products and commodities of the developing countries in the developed markets is also essential for their developmental needs, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said addressing a high-level meeting of the G-77 developing nations here yesterday.
The global slowdown and slower than expected recovery, Sinha said, have increased difficulties of the developing nations by limiting their trade opportunities.
Investment inflows have decreased, reducing economic growth rates and thereby their capacity to address the numerous development challenges that confront them.

"We have to ensure that our concerns are fully taken into account by international community," he told the meeting attended by several foreign ministers.

To maximise the development gains from negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Sinha said, "We need not only unity of purpose but also expert knowledge."
Sinha said the outcomes of the Monterrey conference and Johannesburg summit, though encouraging in many ways, were "Modest and did not come up to the expectations of the developing countries."

Bureau Report