"I believe that the international institutions we have at the moment, including the World Trade Organization, are woefully inadequate in dealing with the global challenges," Sinha said at the annual World Economic Forum meet on East Asia currently underway here.
Sinha, who is also a Member of Parliament, felt that Asia had to take on the mantle to resolve the economic crises, with the economic clout drifting away from the United States and Europe.
Referring to the spiralling prices of food and its impact on Asia and Africa, Sinha felt that it was time that Asia could play a major role. "I would say that this is where there is an opportunity for Asia. There are a whole host of things that Asian nations can do together. We must start writing the rules of the game," he said.
Sinha, who is also the former External Affairs minister, felt that the world financial institutions had not been able to deal with the current crises. Referring to the subprime mortgage issue in the United States which led to world stock market crises, he noted that if had happened in Asia or Latin America a team from the IMF would have come with advices.
"There is a major regulatory failing in the US. What is the IMF doing about the US? Nothing," he noted adding that global financial institutions were not responding to global challenges.
"The shift in the economy around the world has been dramatic," Lord Peter Levene, Chairman of London-based Lloyd's, the world's biggest insurance market, told reporters before the start of the conference.
"If you're travelling in Europe and the United States, there's a feeling of doom and gloom. Here you step off the plane and it's the opposite. This is the right place to be at the moment," Levene said.
