Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left for Pittsburgh on Wednesday to attend the G-20 Summit which, he said, should send a strong message against protectionism in all its forms and the need to carry the process of reform of international financial institutions.
New Delhi would like to see a strong message to emerge from Pittsburgh against protectionism in all its forms, whether trade in goods, services, investment or financial flows, he said.
Observing that the global economy has shown distinct improvement, the prime minister, however, cautioned, "We are still not out of woods."
He said, "It is necessary for India to be engaged in the management of the world economy because we have a lot at stake, and a lot to contribute."
The prime minister said he would convey India's interest in seeing the earliest possible return to trend growth and stabilisation of the banking and financial sectors in the advanced economies, because this directly affects its exports, capital inflows and investment.
"We would like to see a continuous increase in the capital base of multilateral development banks to finance the massive infrastructure needs of emerging markets," he said in a statement just ahead of his departure.
The Summit, the third meeting of industrialised and developing nations in less than a year, reflected the seriousness which the G-20 countries attach not just to the recovery of the global economy and financial system, but to a recovery that is coordinated, sustainable and enduring, Singh said.
The summits in Washington and London were convened at the height of the global economic crisis, and, therefore, focused on the urgent and the immediate, he said.
The London Summit resulted in ambitious liquidity stimulus measures and growth packages. Importantly, it pledged to mobilise $1.1 trillion of resources for international financial institutions, largely to sustain growth in emerging markets, he said.
The steps taken by the G-20 to augment the resources of multilateral development banks have led to substantial stepping up of World Bank lending to India, he said.
"The global economy and financial markets have shown a distinct improvement since then, but we are still not out of the woods," the prime minister said.
Even though India's economic growth rate has slowed to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09, New Delhi approaches the Pittsburgh Summit with a "sense of confidence," he said.
Noting that India's growth is primarily driven by domestic demand, its savings rate is robust and the external sector has exhibited resilience, he said, "Capital flows, especially portfolio flows, have started picking up, and we remain an attractive investment destination."
