PM Manmohan Singh leaves for Cannes to attend G20 meet

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heads for the French Riviera resort of Cannes Wednesday where leaders of the world's 20 largest economies will try to build on last week's euro rescue measures and prevent the crisis from spilling over.

Leaders at the two-day G-20 summit beginning Thursday will discuss in detail Europe's plans to boost the funding of the Emergency Financial Stability Facility to 1 trillion ($1.4 trillion) from the current 250 billion to bail out Greece from its debt woes. The bailout is at the heart of the rescue package hammered out by eurozone members, led by Germany and France.

European leaders are expecting the big developing economies, such as India and China, to make a meaningful contribution to the bailout fund, or boost the resources of the International Monetary Fund.

But India, unlike China, runs a current account deficit and has mostly borrowed reserves. It will have to weigh its options carefully, balancing the ambition of being a larger player on the global economic stage against pressing financial constraints at home.

Singh, who has attended all six G-20 summits since the G-8 was expanded to include major developing economies, is likely to urge European leaders to focus more on open trade, jobs, social protection and economic development.

Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, will be the prime minister's chief interlocutor at the meet. Ahluwalia had earlier told a news conference that India is ready to support any reasonable multilateral action for resolving the eurozone crisis.