Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh flew to Copenhagen Thursday afternoon after his flight was delayed for three hours due to a technical problem, said Indian official.

Before leaving for the Danish capital, Singh promised push for "an equitable outcome" but said India would not accept a treaty that would hamper its drive to lift millions out of poverty, according to a departure statement issued by the government of India.

The prime minister said while he looked forward to "constructive deliberations", developed world needed to address the concerns of the poorer nations over the impact of any deal on their economic growth, according to the statement.

"India remains committed towards protecting the environment and willing to do more to fight climate change but cannot do so at the cost of perpetuating poverty among developing nations," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 18, 2009)