PM expected to exercise ‘soft power’ at G20

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today left for Seoul to attend the 5th G20 Summit where he will meet his host, South Korean president Lee Myung-bak, apart from other leaders.

During the three-day visit, the prime minister is not only expected to articulate India's stand on how to achieve global financial stability - the basic foundation of the grouping of the top rich and emerging economies - but also meet a host of leaders on the margins.

The Group of 20, originally formed at the level of finance ministers and central bank governors in 1999 after the East Asian economic crisis, assumed significance after it was elevated to a summit-level forum in 2008 during the global financial crisis.

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

''The astute policy conduct and soft power (of India) will probably secure a positive outcome this weekend in Seoul,'' according to Societe Generale's chief Asia economist Glenn Maguire.

India has ''significantly extended'' its 'soft power' influence in the period following the financial crisis, and its participation in and influence in the global economic and financial architecture is ''growing at a rapid rate,'' he adds.