With focus on Eurozone, China, no bilateral with PM for Obama

US President Barack Obama travels to Cannes in France later this week to attend the crucial G20 meeting where his focus on situation in the Eurozone would devoid him from any bilateral with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"In Cannes, we expect the Eurozone to be the primary focus of discussion, but in addition the leaders will focus on mechanisms that have been put in place to ensure strong, balanced and sustainable growth," Michael B Froman, the Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs, told reporters at a White House news conference today.

Obama leaves for Cannes on Wednesday night to attend the G20 Summit later this week, which would be attended by the leaders of the top 20 global economies, including the Indian prime minister.

As of now, no bilateral meeting is scheduled between Obama and Singh.

The two leaders also did not meet in New York in September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

No official reason was given for the two leaders skipping the opportunity for an one-o-one meeting for the second time in succession.

Ben Rhodes, the Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, told reporters that Obama would be holding bilateral meetings with host French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angele Merkel and Argentinian President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.

Besides attending meetings of the G20 on Thursday and Friday, Obama would also meet international labour leaders, Rhodes said.

Dwelling on the agenda of the G20, Froman said the world leaders will talk about how to keep momentum going on G-20 priorities on common global challenges -- everything from development for security and infrastructure, as well as the phasing out of fossil-fuel subsidies, fighting corruption and strengthening the multilateral trading system consistent with their interests.

"These summits, like any summits, really have three purposes. One, they're action-forcing events to make decisions. They're ongoing processes for getting work done below the leader level. They're an opportunity for leaders to engage directly with their counterparts on the issues of the day," he said.

In many respects, the Cannes G20 has already been an important success as being a catalyst for the decisions that Europe took last week to deal with its crisis," said the Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs.

Noting that against a backdrop of renewed global risks, there's growing agreement around the world that the focus at Cannes needs to be on growth, Lael Brainard, Treasury Department Undersecretary for International Affairs, said safeguarding the fragile recovery and laying the foundation for stronger, more balanced growth will therefore be the core of their economic agenda in Cannes.

"President Obama goes into Cannes on the heels of signing three new trade agreements that are at the centre of our growth agenda by securing new markets for US goods and services exports," Brainard said.

She said the US will continue to seek opportunities to capitalise on the export-led engine of growth and job creation that's central to the recovery, advancing the president's national export initiative goal of doubling exports in five years.

"President Obama will also continue his close engagement with European leaders in Cannes, working together to safeguard the global recovery. The comprehensive plan agreed by European leaders last week will lay a critical foundation for a durable solution to the euro area crisis," Brainard said.