Bush hopes for some concrete results at G-20 summit

WASHINGTON: As the US prepared to host world leaders including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the G-20 financial summit, President George W Bush expects the talks to yield "some quite concrete results" and an agreement to push for reforms to stabilise the battered global markets.
    
Ahead of the unprecedented summit of leaders of industrialised and developing countries starting on Saturday, the White House said it expects "thorough discussions" during when Bush is expected to tell world leaders not to "turn inward or stifle markets" as they seek to fix the worst global financial downturn in recent years.
    
India's potential to contribute to global strategies to ward off another financial crisis meanwhile got a boost when Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said New Delhi and Beijing should play a greater role in international affairs and in the G20 summit on the  global financial crisis.    

"I believe China and India do deserve a greater place at the international table," Rudd told the ABC in Sydney ahead of his departure for the summit.
    
A top Bush aide while reaffirming US' commitment to market principles and liberalisation said "This(Washington meet) will be the first step that the G-20 has met at leader level. We expect a thorough discussion, of causes, of actions, near-term actions to be taken, longer-term actions to be considered, and, importantly, agreement on fundamental principles for reform.
    
"So I would say we are expecting an important and vigorous discussion with some quite concrete results," Special Assistant to US President for International Economic Affairs Dan Price said.
     
Bush will also host the leaders at a White House dinner on Friday and review causes and solutions for the financial mess on Saturday.

President George W Bush hopes that "leaders will be able to reach agreement on a common understanding of the root causes of the crisis," Price said, adding that "we believe leaders will want to review what they have done and will need to address the present crisis, as well as identify several areas where immediate steps could be taken to address present challenges".
    
On the shared understanding of causes, the Bush administration also expects leaders to discuss common principles and minimise the possibility of any such crisis in the future.
    
"This is the first in a series and there will be further meetings, not only to review the decisions that may be taken at this meeting, but also to follow up and receive recommendations on areas where further work has been tasked," Price said.
    
"There are a number of areas where important work could be done in the near term. We believe that leaders will want to come to some agreement on those areas of near-term work, put in some timeframes, and then be in a position to see where we are on achieving those by the time of the next meeting," Price said at the White House briefing.
   
"... at this meeting, we identify not only common ground rules, common principles for reform, but identify some of the early actions that we need to take, as well as reaffirm importantly our commitments to market principles, ...
   
"...to trade and investment liberalization, and to meeting our commitments to the developing world, and ensuring that those most in need are  not ignored by the global community."
   
"...it's really four parts. One, let us identify what needs to be done. Let us begin that task now. Let us continue that task through the future. And then, finally, let us do so against the backdrop of a commitment to open trade and investment and to meeting the needs of the least fortunate"  Price added.