PM Leaves for G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has left for the US to take part in the G-20 summitt in Pittsburgh which is being hosted by President Barack Obama.
The summit is scheduled to assess the state of the world economy in the wake of the year-long economic recession and will muse on ways to strengthen the global financial regulatory system.
In addition, the world leaders are likely to hold discussions on how to provide renewed thrust to the current negotiations to conclude the Doha round of multilateral trade talks.
At the two-day summit starting Thursday, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, will be the prime minister’s key aide.
This will be the tenth year of the G-20 initiative, which was initiated at the level of officials and central bank governors in 1999 in the wake of the East Asia financial crisis, and which was raised to the summit level last November.
The summit will bring together developed countries and emerging economies for resolution of issues pertaining to the management and regulation of global financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the International Finance Corp.
The Pittsburgh Summit, which will bring together a group of countries that accounts for 90 per cent of the global output, 80 per cent of world trade and two-thirds of humanity, is also expected to issue a declaration or a communique.
Ahead of the summit, India has also committed to invest up to $10 billion in the IMF as part of the major thrust to wrest a greater say in the running of the international financial institution and replenish the fund to help countries struggling in the current financial crisis.
