Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

Prime Minister and President Bush discuss agenda for G-8 Outreach Summit

The Prime Minister received a telephone call from President George Bush this evening. The two leaders discussed matters pertaining to the agenda of the G-8 Outreach Summit due next month. The Prime Minister conveyed India's commitment to work with other countries to deal with the problems of climate change and global warming. He said that the problems of environment cannot be solved by perpetuating poverty in developing countries. The two leaders discussed the Clean Development Mechanism and agreed that the emphasis has to be on greater energy efficiency and the development of new technologies.

The two leaders also emphasized the importance of a successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round of multilateral trade negotiations. The Prime Minister said that India has a strong vested interest in the successful functioning of a multilateral trading system, and that India would like the Doha Round to adhere to the original understanding that it will be a development round. The Prime Minister said India would like to work with all like-minded countries to make a success of Doha negotiations.

The two leaders expressed happiness at the strengthening of the bilateral relations and reviewed developments pertaining to negotiations on bilateral civil nuclear cooperation. They also discussed other regional matters.

The President invited the Prime Minister to visit the United States again. The Prime Minister accepted the invitation and said mutually convenient dates will be worked out.