India urges Europe, U.S. to resolve debt mess

PRETORIA (Reuters) - Leaders from India, Brazil and South Africa urged the world's rich countries on Tuesday to contain their financial crises and prevent the global economy from slipping into a double dip recession.

Speaking at the fifth India, Brazil South Africa (IBSA) summit in Pretoria, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said financial turmoil in Europe, the United States and Japan was hurting developing countries.

"Developing countries cannot remain untouched by the negative impact of these developments," Singh said.

"We hope that effective steps will be taken by Europe and other economies to calm the capital and financial markets to prevent the global economy from slipping into a double dip recession."

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, attending her first IBSA summit, called for an end to currency protectionism and for strong commitments from the world's economic giants to control the debt crisis on the periphery of the euro zone.

"We need a credible agreement from European countries to prevent the crisis from getting out of control. We cannot be held hostage of old fashioned visions or paradigms," she said.

The summit is meant to boost trade between the Asian, African and South American giants, come up with measures to counter piracy in the Indian and Atlantic oceans and strengthen negotiating positions on climate change.

However, IBSA's importance as a diplomatic forum has been overtaken by South Africa's admission this year to the wider BRICs grouping, that also includes China and Russia.

South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry said IBSA trade stood at $16.1 billion in 2010 and the bloc was in "striking distance" of hitting $25 billion by 2015.

(Reporting by Peroshni Govender; Editing by Ed Cropley)