PM stresses BRIC cooperation in energy, food security

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today pitched for close cooperation among India, Russia, China and Brazil in the fields of energy and food security, besides tapping potential in other sectors like trade and investment, science and technology and infrastructure.

Addressing the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) summit in Brasilia, he said the four countries can benefit by sharing their experiences in the field of inclusive growth. "We are four large countries with abundant resources, large populations and diverse societies ... we aspire for rapid growth for ourselves and for an external environment that is conducive to our development goals," Singh told the second summit of the four-nation grouping in the Brazilian capital.

"Our grouping includes two of the largest energy producers and two of the largest consumers in the world. We can cooperate in both upstream and downstream areas, and in the development of new fuels and clean energy technologies," he said.

Similarly, BRIC countries are both large producers and consumers of agricultural products, he said, proposing that the four nations should consider putting in place an architecture of food security that focuses on increasing agricultural productivity, better land use, sustainable farming practices and agro-processing.

On the global economic and financial crisis, he said while it appears that that it is "behind us, it is still early to say that we are on the path of long-term recovery." Singh said a lot would depend on how the developed economies fare.

The gathering of the world's top emerging economies was truncated and brought forward a day to ensure the participation of Chinese President Hu Jintao, who announced he had to race home to oversee the response to the quake that has devastated China.