Berlusconi: G8 may grow to G13

Naples - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Tuesday the Group of Eight major industrial nations would likely decide to enlarge the group and include the world's emerging economic powers.

During a speech in the southern Italian city of Naples, Berlusconi said it was "very likely" that the G8 would decide to invite India, China, Egypt, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil - the biggest emerging economies - to join them.

"I spoke about this yesterday (Monday) on the phone with (US President) George W Bush," said the Italian leader, whose country takes the helm of the G8 in January.

"The G8 would become the 'super G8'. We would be responsible for nurturing and guiding it during its first year," Berlusconi told a gathering of Italian employers.

He called institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank "too bureaucratic."

Instead, he argued, "the G8 could become a forum which can deal better with current economic problems."

Some members of the G8 club, especially France and Germany, have pushed for including the five major emerging economies to create a G13. Besides Italy, the other G8 nations are Canada, Britain, Japan, Russia and the United States.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Saturday expressed his "strong support" for an enlarged G8 summit as soon as possible on the global financial crisis, which French President Nicolas Sarkozy has also endorsed.

- AFP