Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday took off for the emergency Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy in Washington DC to put forth a strong argument for developing countries, and India in particular. India now reckons that the indirect impact of a global slowdown on its domestic economy will by no means be trivial or insignificant.

Ahead of his departure, Singh said, “I will put forward our views on the need for greater inclusivity in the international financial system, the need to ensure that the growth prospects of the developing countries do not suffer, and the need to avoid protectionist tendencies.” Reiterating that the fundamentals of the Indian economy were strong, he expressed confidence that India had the potential to contribute to global economic growth.

An official in the Prime Minister’s Office told The Indian Express that Singh will take a “holistic and political view” of the two-day summit beginning November 14. His sherpa and Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia will guide him on the ‘larger economic impact’ of the decisions resulting from the summit.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram will keep a close tab on the evolving and new global financial architecture that world leaders including French President Nicholas Sarkozy have been pushing for. Prime Minister Singh reckons that though we have a global economy of sorts it is not supported by a global polity to provide effective governance. He feels that it is time world leaders pondered over the need for a global monitoring authority to promote global supervision and cooperation.

... contd.