Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said
Sunday that he would highlight the economic impact of rising fuel prices and
the need for concerted action when he meets G8 leaders at their summit in Japan, dpa reported.
India is one of five emerging economies, along with China, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico, that have been invited to the G8 summit as outreach partners. Singh
is scheduled to leave for Japan on Monday.
The prime minister is expected to hold a series of meetings, including one with
US President George W Bush at which the two leaders are to discuss progress
on a civilian nuclear deal.
The controversial deal, initiated by Bush and Singh three years ago, has run
into objections from some of India's political parties, especially those on the
left.
Some leftist lawmakers who provide Singh's minority government with crucial
support in parliament have threatened to withdraw their backing if he project
goes ahead.
The region Samajwadi Party, which has a large number of deputies, said it would
support the deal, but it is not clear if this will be enough for the Singh
administration to survive.
The left parties are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, the day Singh returns from
Japan, to decide when they will announce their withdrawal of support.
Singh did not mention the nuclear deal in the statement issued on the eve of
his departure, but chose to dwell on the need for joint action by oil-producing
and consuming nations on fuel prices and on climate change issues which is
expected to be a focus of discussions with the outreach countries.
"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," Singh said.
But he added: "In our view there can be no solution without taking into
account the developmental imperatives and aspirations of developing economies.
For us, the foremost priority is the removal of poverty, for which we need
sustained rapid economic growth."