Indian PM Embarks On 8-day Tour Of Mexico, Brazil

New Delhi, June 16, IRNA – India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday embarked for a eight-day tour of Mexico and Brazil to attend the G-20 and Rio+20 summits. Singh will attend the seventh summit of the Group of 20 developed and developing countries(G-20) starting in the Mexican resort town of Los Cabos on June 18 and the Rio+20 Summit in Rio De Janeiro. The G-20 summit is likely to be dominated by the crisis in Europe, which - combined with slowing growth in China and India - poses a threat to the world economy. The Rio Summit, commencing on June 20, is being held 20 years after the first Earth Summit, a landmark gathering, in a renewed bid to rally the world behind a common environmental blueprint. Prior to his departure, the PM today voiced concern that continuing problems in the eurozone will further dampen global markets and adversely impact India's own economic growth Singh also said that the need to revive global growth should be an issue of immediate concern which must be addressed by world leaders. Singh also noted that BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries have been the new growth poles of the global economy. "BRICS leaders have agreed to work with the global community to ensure international policy coordination to maintain macroeconomic stability conducive to healthy recovery of the global economy," he said. As current Chair of BRICS, India will host an informal meeting of BRICS leaders prior to the commencement of the G-20 Summit to exchange views on the agenda of the Summit. On the Earth Summit in Rio, the Prime Minister said the cardinal principles of Rio 1992 must not be diluted, particularly the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities as well as equity. During his visit, the Prime Minister is expected to hold separate meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Nepalese Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and several other leaders./end