Washington, April 24 Prime Minister's special envoy on climate change issues, Shyam Saran, will lead the Indian delegation to a preparatory meeting of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate here from April 27-28.

The preparatory sessions will support a Major Economies Forum leaders' meeting hosted by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in LaMaddalena, Italy, in July 2009.

US Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern will lead US participation in the Major Economies Forum.

President Barack Obama announced the launch of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate on March 28.

The forum is intended to facilitate a candid dialogue among key developed and developing countries, help generate the political leadership necessary to achieve a successful outcome at the December UN climate change conference in Copenhagen.

It would also advance the exploration of concrete initiatives and joint ventures that increase the supply of clean energy while cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

Besides India, the other 16 major economies participating in the forum are Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and the US.

Denmark, in its capacity as the president of the December 2009 Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the United Nations have also been invited to participate in this dialogue.