Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asks NAM to take stand on Syria

TEHRAN: Strongly pitching for coordinated global actions against international terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked the Non-Aligned Movement to take a lead in this and also take a stand based on "universally accepted principles" on Syria.

Voicing India's opposition to "external intervention" in Syria, Singh, while addressing the leaders and other representatives from over 50 NAM countries who are here for a two-day Summit, made a pointed reference to the situation in the West Asian region, particularly Syria, currently afflicted by a civil war between troops loyal to President Bashar Al- Assad and the rebels.

"The West Asian and North African region is undergoing profound change. As the world's largest democracy, India supports popular aspirations for a democratic and pluralistic order. Nevertheless, such transformations cannot be prompted by external intervention, which exacerbate the suffering of ordinary citizens.

"The deteriorating situation in Syria is a matter of particular concern. Our Movement should take a stand on the issue in keeping with universally accepted principles," he said while urging all parties to recommit themselves to resolving the crisis peacefully through a Syrian-led inclusive political process that can meet the legitimate aspirations of all Syrian citizens.

Underlining the need for new instruments of global governance to confront cross-cutting and trans-national challenges through coordinated global actions, Singh said these include international terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the menace of maritime piracy, the growing threat to cyber security and the growing challenge of pursuing ecologically sustainable development.

Observing that the existing problems cannot be solved effectively without a greater voice for developing countries on issues such as global trade, finance and investment, he sought new instruments of global governance as the current ones "have proved inadequate in dealing with the economic and political crises of our present."

"Our Movement should take the lead in building global governance structures that are representative, credible and effective. It is my sincere hope that the Movement can agree on action to reform institutions such as the United Nations Security Council, the World Bank and the IMF," said Singh to the audience which included UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and others.

He said that developing countries can be drivers of global growth and that international financial institutions should, therefore, be encouraged to fund infrastructure development in the developing world in innovative ways.

"We should also urge that the current economic crisis should not lead to a dilution of development assistance flows from the developed world," he said.