Pranab sees no harm from Greek crisis

The festering European debt crisis, if confined to Greece and a couple of other countries, would not impact India, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday.

"Up to now I must say we could not have that much adverse effect because the countries which are in the vortex of this great crisis, our exposure to them is limited. So also our exports to Greece," Mukherjee told business news channel CNBC TV18 in Busan, South Korea.

He, however, added that if the recovery process in Europe as a whole and the Eurozone in particular, is retarded, then it may have adverse impacts on India's economy.

"There will be an impact on our recovery because Europe still continues to be an important export destination of us," the minister said. But he quickly added that he is hopeful that the crisis would be tackled by world leaders and confine it to one or two countries only.

"Therefore, when it is confined to the current level and thereafter responding to the package of stimulus measures which have been worked out by the leaders of Europe, if this crisis is resolved, I don't think there is anything to be worried about. I think that it would be resolved and leaders would be in a position to tackle the situation and confine to one or two countries," Mukherjee said.

Meanwhile, World Bank chief economist and senior vice-president Justin Yifu Lin said the global economy is recovering better than expected, but the sustainability of the recovery remains fragile, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

Although coordinated policy responses helped the global economy rebound at a faster-than-expected pace, "the foundation of the sustainable recovery is still quite weak," Lin said. "The best way to get out of the crisis is growth," he was quoted as saying by the agency.

The news agency also quoted Asian Development Bank chief economist Lee Jong-wha as saying the Eurozone debt problems would not plunge the world economy into a double-dip recession.

The G-20 finance ministers are expected to deliberate on the Eurozone debt crisis at the two-day meeting starting in Busan on Friday.