Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will leave for South Korea on Wednesday to attend the G-20 summit in Seoul on November 10 and 11, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao told journalists here on Tuesday.
This is the first time a G-20 summit is being held in a non-G-8 country.
Besides seeking to “address the international economic crises in a concerted coordinated and effective manner,” the Prime Minister will also hold bilaterals with the United Kingdom, Canada and Ethiopia besides a “pull aside” with the head of the Brazilian delegation.
More bilaterals or pull asides could be in the offing, added Ms. Rao.
The Foreign Secretary said, India, “speaking as the voice of leading emerging economies in consultation with other emerging countries,” would call for ways and means to ensure “sustained, strong and balanced growth.”.
The G-20 meeting, under the theme of “Shared growth beyond the crises,” will review the global economic situation, status of the world recovery and implementation of decisions taken at previous G-20 meets.
The Seoul Summit will be preceded by a Seoul G-20 Business Summit to be attended by 100 CEOs.
This meet on the sidelines of the Summit proper is expected to institutionalise the role of the private sector in the G-20 framework, noted Ms. Rao.
