Brown invites Singh to G20 meet

Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh is among the top world leaders to have been invited for the second G20 summit due in London on 2 April, 2009. The meet, which is critical in developing an international response to the current crisis, will discuss ways and means to stimulate growth.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, whose country will host the global economic summit, has sent formal invitations to top world leaders.

President Barack Obama has confirmed his attendance at the London summit.

This is the second meeting of the grouping after the one in Washington hosted by the then President George Bush on 15 November.

''The global economic challenges we face need to be met with decisive action if we are to secure jobs, restore confidence and reinvigorate growth,'' Brown said on Friday.

Brown has identified three key priorities which need to be agreed at the London Summit.

The first priority is the need for co-ordinated actions to revive the global economy and to stimulate growth and employment. The second priority is reforming and improving financial sectors and systems to deliver progress on the actions agreed at the Washington Summit. And, the third priority is to agree a set of principles for reforming international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, the Financial Stability Forum and the World Bank.

He also released a blueprint for the meet called ''Road to the London summit, the plan for recovery.''

''Every part of the world must be part of the stimulus to the economy,'' he said, noting that included regulatory and tax havens that have previously largely escaped restrictions.

Besides leaders from G20 nations, the chair of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the chair of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the President of the EU Commission have also been invited for the summit. The chairman of the African Union Commission will also attend.

Brown meets world leaders
In preparation of the meet Brown this week met with Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, World Bank head Robert Zoellick and IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Khan. He will also join a meeting of European leaders hosted by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Sunday.

Brown calls for an immediate boost to the IMF's resources and for countries to renounce protectionism. Brown also stressed the need to work together to improve global financial regulation to prevent a repeat of the current financial crisis.

Last week, Japan agreed to provide €78 billion ($100 billion) to the IMF.

The IMF has recently provided emergency loans to Latvia, Hungry and the Ukraine and there had been fears that its holdings of $142 billion could run out before the end of the year.

Strauss-Kahn warned on Tuesday that the global financial system is still far from sound and the toxic debt blighting bank balance sheets is undermining government recovery efforts.

Britain has already nationalised one bank, Northern Rock, and owns a majority stake in another, Royal Bank of Scotland. It also controls 43 per cent of the Lloyds Banking Group, created from the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS.

In January 2009, IMF slashed its economic outlook, predicting the global financial crisis would slam growth to a virtual standstill this year, forecasting world economic growth to fall to 0.5 per cent in 2009, the lowest rate since World War II.

Last week finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 met in Rome to discuss the ongoing financial crisis and economic slowdown.

A communique issued at the end of the gathering said, ''the stabilisation of the global economy and financial markets remains our highest priority.''