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G-15 summit calls for reform in IMF, WTO

The Group of 15, or G15, developing nations concluded their summit in Cairo on Tuesday demanding a more equitable global financial regime and a reorientation in the World Trade Organisation and International Monetary Fund to better address their socio-economic problems.

The leaders of 17 participating countries also underlined the necessity of developing a dynamic mechanism to enable the G-15 cope with the challenges of globalisation being faced by developing countries.

The summit, presided over by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, also stressed the need for more interactions with groupings of the developed countries, including the G-8.

Leader of the Indian delegation, Vice-President Krishna Kant, said in the era of mutual economic interdependence, the south, with its teeming millions, should come together and obtain a better bargain for itself.

"The developed world will have no option but to take into consideration the massive buying power which the immense population of the south wields,'' he said.

Kant called for the best use of information technology tools by the south to enhance its intrinsic strengths and indigenous skills.

"The changing international economic order offers new opportunities to far-flung countries for promoting and marketing their potential worldwide through such techniques, including e-commerce.

"In this new environment, many opportunities are opening up for collaborations in areas where the south is endowed with rich indigenous resources and potential,'' he said.

The G-15 includes Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Senegal, Venezuela, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

UNI

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