PM calls for early conclusion of India-Brazil-South Africa trade pact

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for an early conclusion of the trilateral trade arrangement among India, South African Customs Union and the South American trading block of Mercosur, in order to give a boost to South-South trade.

He said such an agreement could make Africa the bridge linking South Asia and Latin America. It would also help the three economies withstand the pressures of the global economic slowdown and continue on the steady growth path, he said.

Manmohan Singh was addressing the plenary session of the India-Brazil-South Africa Summit in Pretoria today.

Trilateral trade in the IBSA grouping is almost touching the $20 billion mark and going by the current trend, could reach the target of $25 billion, and possibly more by 2015, he added.

At the same time, the prime minister called for effective and early steps by Europe and other advanced economies to calm the capital and financial markets and prevent the global economy from slipping into a double dip recession.

The sovereign debt crisis in Europe and recessionary trends in the traditional engines of the global economy - the United States, Europe and Japan are sending negative signals to world financial and capital markets, which are showing signs of distress, he said, adding that this would negatively impact the ability of developing economies to address their developmental challenges.