Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's opening remarks at the onboard press conference

I am returning to India after attending meetings of the G-5 leaders ( India, Brazil, China, Mexico and South Africa) , of the G-5 + G-8 and Egypt, and of the G-8, G-5, Egypt and African Countries. There were also meetings of the Major Economies Forum on Trade and Climate Change.

These meetings took place when the world is attempting a recovery from the recession caused by the financial crisis in the heart of the developed world. After our discussions, it is my sense that while there are some signs of recovery, the world economy is still a long way from recovering the earlier growth momentum and there must be questions whether that will soon be possible for the global economy.

We also discussed other global issues such as Climate Change and Sustainable Development, and the elimination of hunger through food security. On trade, the dangers of protectionism were highlighted. It is clear to me that meaningful global action on all these issues requires a restructuring of the institutions of global governance, starting with the UN Security Council. The sentiment has been recognized in the declarations of our meetings.

I return home convinced that we must continue to strengthen our steps at home to regain the 8-10 % growth path. The international environment will not be as supportive as before for some time to come. I am however, confident that our domestic economic strengths will enable us to return to our earlier path of rapid and inclusive growth.

I also had useful conversations with the leaders of Angola, Japan, the USA, Russia, the UK, Australia, our host Italy, and several other world leaders.