Manmohan meets Bush on sidelines of G-8 Summit

Manmohan Singh had a brief meeting with W Bush after setting the tone for deliberations between the G8 countries and the five outreach partners at their annual summit.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had a brief meeting with US President George W Bush on Friday after setting the tone for deliberations between the G8 countries and the five outreach partners at their annual summit.

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"The prime minister had a brief 'pull aside' with President Bush, had a walk with President (Vladimir) Putin and met with Prime Minister (Tony) Blair," an official said after the engagement between G8 and the five outreach partners.

"Our prime minister's intervention on climate change set the agenda for talks," he said as the leaders of these countries met in Germany's Baltic Sea resort of Heiligendamm.

The influential G8 comprises US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia, while the five outreach countries are Brazil, China, Mexico and South Africa, besides India.

Earlier, the five outreach countries presented a joint position paper on issues like global governance, terrorism, international trade, cross-border migration, climate change, energy security and South-South cooperation.