G15 ministers debate low attendance

G15 ministers debate low attendance

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): The foreign ministers of the Group of
15 (G-15) developing nations gathered yesterday ahead of a summit
meeting amid concern over low attendance and lack of influence
over rich countries.

The ministers were to take up a paper exploring whether G-15
leaders should meet less often and the developing nations should
seek closer ties with the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialized
nations.

"Attendance by G-15 heads of state/government at past summits
has tended to be low and concentrated around a few countries,"
the paper said.

It said G-15 countries were divided over whether to hold
summits every two years instead of every year. The 1994 summit in
New Delhi had to be canceled due to a lack of a quorum.

Eight heads of state or government including the host,
Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, were expected to
attend the three-day summit starting on Monday. Indian Prime
Minister Inder Kumar Gujral canceled his appearance after being
criticized for taking too many trips abroad.

Those favoring biannual summits, including Indonesia, said
the large number of other summits made attendance at G-15
meetings difficult.

But other countries said that "for the G-15 to be credible and
respond appropriately to rapidly-evolving international issues,
it is necessary for summits to be held every year", the paper
said.

The G-15 groups Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Egypt,
India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru,
Senegal, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. Kenya will be admitted into the
group next week.

The paper discussed taking in new members but recommended "the
G-15 should first consolidate and reinforce itself before
embarking on expansion", saying expansion could make coordination
even more difficult.

The document said the G-15 lacked a coherent strategy for
dialog with the G-7 group of industrialized nations -- Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

"Past attempts by the G-15 to engage the G-7 in
dialogue...have only received a modest response," it said.

The paper suggested a high-level meeting between G-15 and G-7
ministers on specific issues of concern to countries in both
groups.

It said many G-15 projects were progressing rather slowly,
mainly due to problems of funding, information and coordination.
In a bid to increase economic cooperation, the group held its
first meeting of trade and economic ministers on Friday.

The meeting discussed ways of increasing trade and investment
and participation by the private sector.

"They agreed that G-15 cooperation should focus mainly on
areas such as trade and investment facilitation and technical
cooperation," a statement by Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah
Aziz said.