PM to press for resolute action to buck eurozone crisis

New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Ahead of his eight-day overseas tour to attend the G-20 and the Rio+20 summits in Mexico and Brazil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday flagged the global concerns on the economic meltdown, essentially the eurozone crisis, and the environment degradation, calling for Europe to take resolute action to come out of its financial mess that is threatening to bring the global economy crashing down.

He also vowed to press for ensuring primacy of the development dimensions in the G-20 deliberations at the resort town of Los Cabos in Mexico June 18-19, and the need to focus on investment in infrastructure to stimulate global growth.

"G-20 leaders will meet once again in the shadow of the economic crisis in the eurozone and a faltering global economy. This situation in Europe is of particular concern as Europe accounts for a significant share of the global economy and is also India's major trade and investment partner," the prime minister said in a statement ahead of his departure for Los Cabos.

"Continuing problems there will further dampen global markets and adversely impact our own economic growth. It is our hope that European leaders will take resolute action to resolve the financial problems facing them," he said.

The other issue of immediate concern is the need to revive global growth, Singh said, noting that it was "imperative" that the G-20 countries work in coordination to implement policies that promote sustained growth.

"India has been pursuing this objective in its capacity as the co-chair of the working group on the 'Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth'. I will stress the need to ensure primacy of the development dimension in G-20 deliberations and the need to focus on investment in infrastructure as a means of stimulating global growth," the prime minister said.

From Los Cabos, Singh will travel to Rio de Janeiro for the UN-sponsored Earth Summit June 21-22. The prime minister will emphasize that the world must not dilute the cardinal principles enunciated by the Earth Summit in 1992, also held in Rio, particularly of common but differentiated responsibilities as well as equity, which were the core of global sustainable development efforts.