Holding developed countries responsible for triggering monetary tsunami after global financial crisis, Brazil on Wednesday said it cannot be overcome just by austerity steps and pitched for reforms of financial institutions that include India and other emerging economies.
Addressing a gathering after being conferred Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters by the Delhi University, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff pitched for reforms of the UNSC, saying it is hard to imagine an international debate or a discussion forum where the views of India and Brazil are not valued and even called for.
She said here the two countries were increasingly called upon to perform a central role in addressing the main issues on the international agenda.
The Honorary D Litt was conferred on her by Vice President and Chancellor of Delhi University Hamid Ansari for her contributions to the polity in Brazil and her role in deepening bilateral ties.
"This (economic) crisis started in the developed world. It will not be overcome simply through measures of austerity, fiscal consolidations and depreciation of the labour force; let alone through quantitative easing policies that have triggered what can only be described as a monetary tsunami, have led to a currency war and have introduced new and perverse forms of protectionism in the world," she said.
Rousseff, the first woman President of Brazil, said the two countries have worked for the reform of global governance institutions, including the United Nations Security Council.
In her 20-minute acceptance speech, the Brazialian leader invoked Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and quoted Rabindranath Tagore's famous lines 'Where the mind is without fear'.
