Pranab to press for coordinated approach at G-20 meet in Paris

New Delhi, Feb 16 (PTI) Finance Pranab Mukherjee willpress for a coordinated approach at G-20 ministerial meetingat Paris to deal with the global problems, which includerising food prices, disruptive capital flows and fragileeconomic recovery.

"...the recovery of the global economy remains fragile,uneven and is fraught with significant downside risks. Thecoordinated response in the aftermath of the global crisis,and the resultant recovery, even if it is not complete, hasclearly demonstrated the merits of a coordinated approach",said a Finance Ministry release ahead of Mukherjee''s visit toParis.

Mukherjee will leave tomorrow for the two-day meeting ofG-20 Finance Ministers beginning February 18 at Paris. Theministerial will be preceded by a meeting of the central bankgovernors.

The first meeting of the G-20 Finance Ministers under thepresidentship of France is being held at a time when therising commodity prices is threatening to push more and morepeople below poverty line.

According to a World Bank report released ahead of theG-20 meet, rising food prices have pushed 4.4 crore peoplebelow poverty line in the developing countries.

Besides rising food prices and disruptive capital flows,the G-20 ministers will focus on issues like policy frameworkfor a strong, sustainable and balanced growth, reform of theInternational Monetary System (IMS) and indicative guidelinesfor quantifying global imbalances.

During his stay in Paris, Mukherjee will also meet hisFrench counterpart Christine Legarde and deliberate onbilateral and multi lateral issues of mutual interestincluding revenue related matters.

His agenda in Paris also include a meeting with therepresentatives of the BRIC nations, which besides Mukherjeeinclude Finance Ministers of China, Brazil and Russia.

The agenda of the BRIC meeting include assessment ofthe G-20 Framework, reform of the global economic system,preparations for BRIC Summit (Beijing) and BRIC economicco-operation.

Mukherjee will also be a lead speaker along with CanadianFinance Minister Jim Flaherty at the conference which isexpected to open with a presentation on the global economyby the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The G-20, a grouping of the developed and developingnations, besides India, comprises Argentina, Australia,Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Indonesia,Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea,Turkey, the United States and European Union.

In view of the rising commodity prices, France is alsoschedule to hold a meeting of the G-20 Agriculture Ministersin May and summit at Cannes on November 2-3.