Manmohan leaves Seoul after attending G20 summit

SEOUL - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh left the South Korean capital Seoul Friday after attending the G20 summit where he called for a new global rebalance.

Manmohan Singh said funds from surplus nations can go to bridging the infrastructure gap in poor and emerging economies to avoid destabilisation.

He also warned against protectionism in the wake of unemployment in rich nations, while asking the G20 leadership to agree to what is called the mutual assessment process to determine what level of deficit or surplus is good or bad for each country.

“Problems facing us in rebalancing the global economy is well known,” the Indian prime minister told a plenary session of the G20 Summit here.

Since Thursday, the prime minister had a string of engagements including a bilateral meeting with his Ethiopian counterpart Meles Zenawi followed by another with Mexican President Felipe Calderon, besides British Prime Minister David Cameron and Canadian Premier Stephen Harper.

The Indian delegation includes Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Finance Secretary Ashok Chawla.

The G20, originally formed at the level of finance ministers and central bank governors in 1999 after the East Asian economic crisis, has assumed significance after it was elevated to a summit-level forum in 2008 after the ongoing global financial crisis.

Besides India, South Korea, the G20 comprises Brazil, the US and Canada, Argentina, Australia, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, Britain and the European Union.