With an eye to increasing the G-8 membership in the future and include countries like India, Germany, the current chair of the group, is pushing for a proposal to institutionalise the relationship with the “Outreach 5” countries as a first step towards this “integration process”.

According to officials, Germany is keen to establish an institutional framework in the form of a special cell that can ensure a continuing dialogue with the five developing countries — India, China, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa —given the fact that no decision can be pushed without a discussion with these countries. However, one of the issues holding up a consensus is finding a secretariat for this purpose.

It is learnt that the German proposal is to have the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development to lend secretarial assistance to start this mechanism. But some of the Outreach 5 countries are not comfortable with the idea and have indicated that the UN could be a better alternative. This, on the other hand, is not acceptable to the US.

In the run up to the G-8 Outreach Summit at Heiligendamm, Berlin is stepping up diplomatic efforts to reach a consensus as it wants to bill this as the “Heiligendamm initiative”. New Delhi, on its part, is open to the idea but has still not spoken on its preferred secretariat for this initiative.

Berlin, a top German diplomat said, views this as the first step towards building the grounds for eventual inclusion of all these five countries.