Senior Indian officials pointed out that this year's General Assembly session is being held at a time of severe international financial crisis and offers an opportunity for India to propose and take initiatives to correct the balance in favour of developing nations in the North-South economic debate. Singh said, "Some good may yet come" from the downswing in economic growth worldwide, including in Russia and Japan, and impending lowered rates in the United States. He pointed out that leaders and economic thinkers even in industrialised nations are calling for the participation of developing nations in fashioning the future of globalisation. "But we, the developingcountries, have to be vigilant and single-minded in the pursuit of an enlightened way out," he cautioned, adding that the financial and currency market volatilities also present "a window of opportunity to highlight certain other fatal flaws in the way the present international economic system has led to growing disparities in income and consumption."

The challenge for developing countries in the G-77 (which actually has 120 countries-plus China), was to "ensure that more and more people are economically empowered and become at least basic consumers," Singh said. India's strategy to fashion a "more benign and equitable international economic order," as spelt out by Singh, includes restoring the concept of "international public good" to global economic policy making which should take into account development dilemmas; reviving the traditional development cooperation agenda; constantly re-evaluating globalisation, involving developing countries in decision-making; safeguards to help developing nationsprotect their food, energy and social security; and access to world markets and finance.

Because of its relatively safer passage through the East Asian crisis, India is seen to hold a somewhat high ground in the debate on whether free-market forces should be allowed to rule the new economic order. New Delhi has argued at all international fora that unbridled free market capitalisation and liberalisation were dangerous and international financial controls must be put in place. "We must insist on our collectively learning the lesson that the international monetary and financial systems cannot be left to spontaneous market forces alone," Singh emphasised. He pointed out that every day the trillions of dollars crossing international borders are accountable to no one even though they bring with them great volatility of exchange and interest rates and affect the real economy of countries. The UN has decided to hold a Conference on Finance for Development, which New Delhi hopes will provide the forum for acomprehensive discussion of issues raised by it. "Developing countries must initiate early consultations to prepare themselves fully and to evolve coordinated positions on the broad range of issues," Singh said. He also highlighted some of India's concerns with the World Trade Organisation (WTO), noting that there had been an "erosion of the concept of public good" in all WTO agreements. There were no special treatment for developing countries, he said, citing the example of textiles where developed nations have maintained a phase-ot period of ten years for quantitative restrictions against textiles imports from developing countries. Some of India's suggestions have been supported by the G-77.

These include having a strategic sector approach focussing on three frontier technologies of telecommunications, information technology and biotechnology, as well as for an infrastructure initiative fund.