G-15 summit, Tehran:

President calls for G8-G15 dialogue

* No to politically motivated conditionalities

* Moots high level task force for enhanced cooperation

* Warns of climate change impact on developing world

President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday proposed that the G-15 worked very closely with the G-8 to promote constructive dialogue on all major aspects of development. He said a clear methodology needs to be worked out for this dialogue to be realistic and fruitful.

Addressing the G-15 summit in Tehran, President Rajapaksa said the G-15 with its unique composition representing about 33 percent of the world population, with clearly identified objectives has the potential to play a constructive role promoting people- centred development initiatives in global economic and social policy dialogues.

For this reason the G-15 stresses the need for reforms in the international financial architecture to better enable it to monitor, respond and prevent financial and economic disasters. To attain this objective, there must be an open, inclusive and transparent dialogue.

President Rajapaksa added that the Bretton Woods Institutions when working with the developing countries, should take into account the latter’s specific conditions and needs, as well as the structural constraints they confront.

These institutions should refrain from imposing conditionalities which we see in retrospect, did lead in their own way to fuelling the recent crisis.

The President also expressed concern that despite the presence of the global economy and financial surveillance through multilateral organisations and existence of early warning systems, adequate progress has not been made in crisis prevention efforts.

He said the developing world has not run away from its responsibility to contribute to the progressive liberalisation of global trade. “It is therefore all the more regrettable that we are yet awaiting the conclusion of the Doha Round of negotiations in the WTO and the delivery of its development mandate”.

He stressed that the G-15 must remain firm that the final package should address the concerns of the developing countries.

“There must be increased market access for the goods and services of export interest to us. They should not tie up with politically motivated conditionalities”.

Touching on the phenomenon of climate change, the President said that climate change is an issue towards which they in the developing world owe limited if not little historical responsibility.

It must be recognized that the present trend could lead to the reduction of the environmental and carbon emission space available for developing countries in such a manner,as to impact on their entitlement to development.

He said the G-15, to harness its full potential within the group for promoting people-centred development, it is important that they launch a collective project for fair assessment of progress and prospects for enhanced cooperation in economic, financial and other areas including scientific and cultural aspects and called for the appointment of a high level task force using the great repository of expertise that they have in their Government institutions,academia and the private sector.

President Rajapaksa proposed that the G-15 concentrate on action to strengthen development cooperation in the area of infrastructure development,human resource development and trade and investment promotion within the group.