India, Russia reiterate commitment to successful completion of IMF

New Delhi, Dec 21 (ANI): India and Russia on Tuesday welcomed moves to reform the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as agreed during the G-20 Summit in Seoul.

In a joint communiqui issued after bilateral discussions at Hyderabad House here, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev reiterated their commitment to the completion of the reform of the International Monetary Fund, which will be a significant achievement in the general reform of the international financial architecture.

They also agreed that while a global economic recovery was discernible, it remained fragile, and characterized by wide disparities in the experiences of individual countries.

"To progress towards the shared goal of strong, sustainable and balanced growth it is essential for G20 countries to fully implement the Seoul Action Plan adopted at the recent G20 summit," they said.

Emphasizing that the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) had emerged as an important factor for regional security and cooperation in the Eurasian region, President Medvedev welcomed India's intention to join the organisation as a full member, which he said would significantly increase the SCO's political weight and give a new quality and dimension to cooperation in this association.

The Russian Federation also agreed to make efforts along with other SCO members to accelerate the process of India's entry into the organisation.

In their discussions on Asia, the Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, both sides noted that the economies in the regions were increasingly becoming the main drivers of global economic growth and prosperity. In this regard, the sides agreed to consult further with each other.

They also noted that the mechanism of the East Asia Summits (EAS) provides new opportunities for strategic dialogue on all aspects of security and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region.

Russia affirmed that India joining the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) would enhance the APEC potential and effectiveness and expand trade and investment cooperation in the region.

Both sides noted the importance of the mechanism of Defence Ministers of ASEAN and ASEAN dialogue partners (ADMM-Plus) as a key component of a robust, effective, open and inclusive regional security architecture that would enable the ADMM to cooperate with the eight "Plus" countries to address our common security challenges. (ANI)