The G20 had hoped to use a two-day summit to recapture the unity forged in the depths of the crisis two years ago in order to soothe tensions over exchange rates generated by imbalances between cash-rich exporting nations and debt-burdened importers.
But even as US President Barack Obama voiced confidence that leaders would find a formula for more balanced and sustainable growth, negotiators squabbled over the language in a closing statement to be issued when the summit ends on Friday.
“The real issue is, given that it is a problem, how do we coordinate policy? I don’t think you should be too demanding ... because such policy coordination has never been attempted before,” India’s chief G20 negotiator, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, told Reuters.