IMF’s G20 appraisal to bring clarity on sovereignty: PM

The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) ongoing assessment of the financial imperatives of the G20 countries would provide more clarity on how far each of them is willing to subordinate their national sovereignty to the needs of managing an increasingly inter-dependent world,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said. He said the IMF has out forth some categories of countries,which,because of their structural similarities,could take similar approaches in tacking macro-economic problems,but added it was,however,too early to predict the outcome of the process. Addressing a press conference on board the PM’s aircraft in the journey back from Toronto,he said in the need was now for a “much greater degree” of macro policy coordination that what had been feasible in the past. The Prime Minister’s comment allays the fears that because of internal dissensions and the multitude of issues on the G20 table,the forum was showing early signs of non-compactness if not disintegration.

Singh said it has been agreed by the leaders that the G20 would be the premier forum for discussing international economic issues. On the role of G20 vis-à-vis the G8 grouping of advanced economies,he said the latter would now probably deal with security issues much more vigorously that in the past as the G20 focus on macro-economic policy coordination. Singh said the Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had told him about such change in the role of G8.

On the possible expansion of the BRIC bloc,he said the four countries would like to discuss all issues which had a bearing on global economic management and the expansion of membership would have to discussed among these countries. There have been reports about expanding the  Brazil,Russia,India and China (BRIC) union with the inclusion countries like South Africa and Indonesia.

He said the Toronto meeting was in some ways the preparation for Seoul meeting in November. “I think the (Toronto) summit has helped in charting out the agenda and action points for the (Seoul summit).” Stating that the immediate concern of G20 was the situation in the Euro zone,especially the condition of some of the European banks’ balance sheets,he said there was an agreement among the leaders that global economic recovery over the last year was rather fragile.