G20 summit: Leaders back India's infrastructure call

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's call for combining growth and austerity was well received by world leaders at the G20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico.

The Los Cabos Declaration, endorsed by leaders of all G20 countries, stressed on equal importance to austerity and strengthening of growth.

"Strong, sustainable and balanced growth remains the top priority of the G20, as it leads to higher job creation and increases the welfare of people across the world," G20 leaders said in a declaration released at the end of the two-day summit

"We will implement all our commitments in a timely manner and rigorously monitor their implementation," they said.

The G20 nations reportedly also endorsed Indian stand that investment in infrastructure was critical for sustained growth, global economic recovery, poverty reduction and job creation.

India has said it needs at least $1 trillion in the next five years in infrastructure funding.

"The Los Cabos Declaration fully reflects our initiative that investment on infrastructure in developing countries can play a major role in strengthening development and in stimulating global recovery," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a statement to the media at the conclusion of the G20 Summit.

"The Declaration indicates that multilateral development banks should be strengthened for this purpose. We would work with G-20 countries to transform their commitment to specific action."

"The Summit also discussed a number of other important issues including especially the progress in regulatory reform, issue of food security and agricultural productivity, anti-corruption measures and issues related to green growth," Singh said.

In his address during the plenary, the Prime Minister said with developing countries such as India already facing serious problems due to the negative impact of the global economic crisis, funds for growth was getting scarce.

"Infrastructure investment in developing countries assumes special importance in this context. It lays the foundation for rapid growth in the longer term, while providing immediate stimulus for their economies and also for the global economy, by providing a robust source of demand," he said.

India meanwhile today announced a $10-billion contribution to the IMF's additional $430-billion crisis fund to help the debt-ridden 17-nation Eurozone.

The leaders of Brics nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - agreed to "enhance their own contributions to the IMF". However, they insisted that the money be used only after existing funds were depleted.