Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made a strong pitch for India and Brazil to take the joint lead to make the G-20 economic and the G-4 forum on UN issues relevant to bring about desired changes in Doha round of talks on international trade and reform the UN system.
   Receiving the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for the year 2006, the Brazilian President said on Monday since both India and Brazil were members of the two groups, the two countries should use their growing prominence at the international level to bring benefits to the developing countries.
   A joint declaration issued at the end of Mr Lula’s talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other top leaders during the day resolved that India and Brazil should work together bilaterally and at international fora to promote  their interests — be it on reforming the UN system, Doha round of trade talks or on issues of global warming.
   The declaration, which signalled the desire of the two countries to forge much closer cooperation shedding their indifferent past, expressed satisfaction over instituting bilateral strategic dialogue and cooperation plans in the fields of defence and civilian nuclear energy. Both felt that any kind of reforming the UN would be meaningless if it did not start with enlarging the Security Council to give representation to emerging countries like India and Brazil.
Economic growth
   Interestingly, the declaration also pledged each other’s commitment to promote socially inclusive economic growth in their respective countries.
   Mr Lula, who got re-elected in last year’s Brazilian presidential election, was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding for his government’s initiative to transfer income to 11 million most poor people of Brazil through economic policies devised so as to not adversely affect impressive economic growth rates in the country.
‘Award enriched’
   Giving away the award, at a function here, President Dr A P J Abdul Kalam said that by choosing Mr Lula for the award, the Award itself had been “enriched” as the visiting President had “reached out to the unreached” people in his country.
   “You have been able to bring about macro-level economic stability to Brazil for more than five years while following people friendly policies aimed at improving the conditions of the needy and the under privileged. This has resulted in Brazil having a steady GDP growth on the one hand and it has been able to reach the eleven million unreached,” said Dr Kalam.