Manmohan Singh leaves for Japan G-8 Summit today
7 Jul 2008, 1000 Hrs

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New Delhi, July 7 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr Manamohan Singh will leave for the G-8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, today.

During the two-day Summit beginning Tuesday, he is expected to meet US President George Bush and discuss the progress of the Indo-US nuclear deal with him.

On eve of his departure, Dr. Singh said that over the years, the country's participation in the G-8/G-5 dialogue process has enabled it to articulate its concerns on a wide range of issues in a forthright manner.

"At the forthcoming Summit, I will present India 's perspectives on a wide range of global issues, including the state of the world economy, development, trade, transfer of technology, energy security and food security. I will, in particular, highlight the impact of the sharp rise in fuel prices on the global economy and the need for joint action by both producing and consuming nations," he said.

"I will convey to the international community India 's belief that climate change, energy security and food security are interlinked, and require an integrated approach," he added.

He further said in his statement that he will have bilateral meetings with the Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, and some other leaders from Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Russia, USA, besides and the Secretary General of the UN.

"I look forward to participating in an informal meeting of the Brazil-Russia-India-China (BRIC) leaders on the sidelines of the G8 Summit," he added.

During his visit, Dr. Singh will discuss various topics, including climate change, energy and food security with G-8 leaders and those from the outreach countries like China, Brazil and South Africa.

Prior to the meeting with the G8 leaders, the Prime Minister will attend a meeting of the G5 group of Outreach countries being hosted by the President of Mexico on Tuesday.

India has been attending G-8 outreach meetings since 2003. An important outcome of the last year's G-8 summit in Heiligendamm in Germany was the initiative to launch a high-level dialogue between the G-8 and the five-outreach countries to be completed at next year's Summit in Italy. By Mritunjay Singh (ANI)