PM calls for greater Indo-Brazil people-to-people contact

Brasilia, Sep 14 (UNI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for greater people-to-people contacts between India and Brazil to enable the two democracies to come closer in all areas.

At a meeting with a group of leading Brazilian intellectuals here last night, Dr Singh was all praise for Brazil's economic achievements and pointed out that the country's growth was a case study for many economists around the world.

The Prime Minister was totally relaxed throughout the meeting, feeling completely at home among the academicians.

He told the gathering that he was an economist by training, a teacher by profession and a politician "by accident." Dr Singh said the decision of the two governments during his visit to open cultural centres in each other's countries would go a long way in bringing the people of India and Brazil closer to each other.

He also suggested the establishment of chairs in Indian studies in Brazilian universities.

Among those who participated in the meeting, Mauricio Andres Ribeiro, an architect who has been a visiting research fellow at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, presented two of his books on India to the Prime Minister.

UNI SA DKB BS1828