Germany urges India to join fight against protectionism

German President Horst Köhler today urged India to join them in fighting against protectionist tendencies of certain countries that are hampering free flow and development of international trade.

He said both the countries should seek greater cooperation in newer areas like green technology renewable energy.

Condemning the efforts of certain countries, including few European economies, to prevent the promotion of free trade, Köhler said, “protectionist tendencies have increased as a reaction to the crisis, even though this will ultimately be to the detriment of everyone. The world must continue to take decisive action to counter such tendencies.”

He also expressed concern over the failure of the Copenhagen climate change summit to achieve the required gas emission targets to combat climate change. He said there are still “huge differences of opinion” on how both the industrialised countries and developing economies will achieve the targets.

“The disappointing outcome of the Copenhagen conference shows that the international community still has far to go if it wants to effectively protect the one world we share,” the German president said, adding that India’s greenhouse emissions were far below than those of the industrialised world.

Source: Business Standard