Indian delegation meets U.S. officials ahead of G-20 summit

Washington, Nov 14 (PTI) Ahead of the summit of the Group of Twenty (G-20) leaders here on the current global financial and economic crisis, top Indian officials met with their counterparts in the Bush administration and key players in the incoming administration of President-elect Barack Obama.

Deputy Chairman of the Indian Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, 'sherpa' of Indian delegation for the G-20 Summit, accompanied by the Indian Ambassador to U.S. Ronen Sen had a bilateral meeting with his U.S. counterpart Dan Price, President Special Assistant for Economic Affairs.

"The discussions focused on the issues before the summit," a news release from India Embassy said.

Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (D.E.A.), Ashok Chawla participated in a separate meeting of finance deputies involved in preparing the summit outcome.

Ahluwalia accompanied by the Indian Ambassador also had a meeting with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Congressman Jim Leach, who have been nominated by Obama to meet with delegations at the G-20 summit on his behalf.

"There was an exchange of views on issues related to the current international economic and financial crisis, the summit, and also bilateral relations. Secretary Albright, inter alia, conveyed that the President-elect attached high priority to further strengthening of relations between India and the U.S. " the statement said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh along with Finance Minister
P. Chidambaram will arrive here Saturday for a two day meeting
called by the American President George W. Bush.

The meeting will also be attended by the Chairman of the
European Commission, heads of the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank and the United Nations Secretary General
Ban Ki-Moon.

"...this summit will be the first of a series of
meetings. It will focus on five key objectives: understanding
the causes of the global crisis, reviewing the effectiveness
of our responses thus far, developing principles for reforming
our financial and regulatory systems, launching a specific
action plan to implement those principles and reaffirming our
conviction that free market principles offer the surest path
to lasting prosperity," Bush said in New York.

"At it's most basic level, capitalism offers people the
freedom to choose where they work and what they do, the
opportunity to buy or sell products they want, and the dignity
that comes with profiting from their talent and hard work."

"The free market system provides the incentives that lead
to prosperity -- the incentive to work, to innovate, to save,
to invest wisely and to create jobs for others. And as
millions of people pursue these incentives together, whole
societies benefit," he added.

"Free market capitalism is far more than economic
theory," Bush said adding, "...all nations should pledge to
conclude a framework this year that leads to a successful Doha
agreement. We're facing this challenge together and we're
going to get through it together."

"The United States is determined to show the way back to
economic growth and prosperity. I know some may question
whether America's leadership in the global economy will
continue. The world can be confident that it will, because our
markets are flexible and we can rebound from setbacks" he
said.

"The world will see the resilience of America once again.
We will work with our partners to correct the problems in the
global financial system. We will rebuild our economic
strength. And we will continue to lead the world towards
prosperity and peace" Bush added. PTI