The Hindu Business Line : “Balance of power shifting in favour of emerging economies”

ON Board PM's SPECIAL AIRCRAFT: Describing the G-20 summit as “very successful”, the Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh on Sunday said that this had marked a shift in balance of economic power in favour of emerging economies.

There was one important significance, which is clear that the balance of power is shifting increasingly in favour of emerging economies, Mr Singh told reporters accompanying him in his special plane on way back from Washington, where he attended the G-20 summit.

“We were previously also invited for the past couple of years for the G-8 meetings. But consultations were merely for the sake of form. For the first time there was a genuine dialogue between many of the developed countries and the emerging economies,” h e said.

This was confirmation of a shifting balance of economic power and the western world has at long last got to realise this reality, Mr Singh said.

“This is a positive gain. Also before I went when President (George W) Bush spoke to me first about his idea I had mentioned to him that there was a risk that if the meeting was not well-planned it could be counter-productive.”

“Also I was worried that Europeans and Americans may not be able to agree and similarly the emerging countries may not receive the attention that we would like them to get in which case it would be a clear picture of dissension which would not be good fo r handling the financial crisis or its aftermath that is on the horizon,” he said.

Mr Singh said the G-20 meeting could be described as very successful. There was no attempt to score partisan points. - PTI

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