Manmohan Singh is a wise, wonderful man: Obama

It appeared like a mutual admiration society with President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh effusively praising each other after their first meeting. The 48-year-old new American leader described Singh as a wise and wonderful man as the two leaders met on the sidelines of G-20 here last night. First of all I should say that your Prime Minister is a wonderful man. He is wise and decent man, said Obama, clearly impressed by the economist-PM's persona. He (Singh) has been doing a wonderful job in guiding India even prior to being the Prime Minister along the path of extraordinary economic growth. That is a marvel, I think, for all of the world, the US President remarked, apparently referring to Singh's pioneering role in India's economic liberalisation. On his part, Singh told Obama: You are much loved and respected in India. We pledge The G20 summit, which concluded yesterday, would be a turning point for the global economy, as unprecedented and comprehensive steps were taken to improve the financial system, US President Barack Obama said. Obama said G20 have made enormous strides to improving financial regulation, adding that G20 needs to reform failed regulatory systems and must put an end to bubble and bust economy. He said he will ask the US Congress in the next few days to provide an immediate $448 million to help the poorest countries. It's not just charity, poorer nations are future markets. The US will be dedicated to forging consensus rather than dictating terms, he added. The leaders pledged to minimise any negative impact on trade and investment of their domestic policy actions, including action in support of the financial sector. The leaders also pledged $1.1 trillion to revive the world economy. u00a0u00a0