World leaders at G20 summit Thursday called for higher growth and more jobs, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi adding that reforms should be people-driven.
Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott in his opening statement at the summit in Brisbane vowed that world leaders would deliver on an initiative to add $2 trillion to global GDP, promising freer trade and more investment in infrastructure.
Abbott, who has repeatedly promised this year’s G20 gathering in the Australian city of Brisbane would be more than a “talkfest,” said the growth plans would add millions of jobs and boost global GDP by “more than 2%” above expected levels over the next five years.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at the sidelines of the summit, said the reform process is bound to face resistance and wanted it to be insulated from political pressures.
Making a strong pitch for economic reforms, Modi told fellow G20 leaders that reforms should lead to simplification of processes and that methods of governance must be reformed.
“Reform is bound to face resistance...must be insulated from political pressures,” said Modi.
The Prime Minister also made it clear that reform has to be driven by the people and that it cannot be undertaken by “stealth.”
Asserting that reform must be people-centric and people-driven, he said globally reforms are handicapped with perception of being government programmes and a burden on the people and this needs to change.
PM Modi also brought up the issue of black money ahead of his meeting with world leaders, saying repatriation of black money kept abroad is a key priority for India.
Calling for close coordination among countries over combating black money, Modi also said this unaccounted money is also linked to security challenges.
