KALONZO AT G-15

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka has urged countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America to promote trade and investment with each other in order to achieve faster economic growth.

He cited the tremendous economic rise of India, Malaysia, and Brazil - all members of the G15 group of countries - as an indicator that developing countries can leapfrog their economies to middle income status in a few years.

Mr Musyoka was addressing the opening session of the 14th Summit of the G-15 nations in Tehran, Iran on Monday which was also attended by the host, President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Lula Da Silva of Brazil, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal, and Abdoulaziz Bouteflika of Algeria. Also present were leaders from Malaysia, Qatar, Venezuela, Argentina, India, and Belarus.

The Vice President was accompanied by members of parliament Emilio Kathuri, Mohammed Affey and Abdi Nuh, and Kenya’s ambassadors to Tehran and Geneva, Mr Ali Abbas and Mr Philip Owade respectively.

The G-15 was established in Belgrade in 1989 to promote cooperation between member states in investment, trade and technology transfer. The membership includes Kenya, Algeria, Egypt, Malaysia, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Jamaica and Zimbabwe. On the agenda for discussion during the two day summit were issues on debt relief, reforming the Bretton Woods institutions, migrant labour, and North-South dialogue on development.

The V-P called for intensification of efforts to level the playing field at the international level so as to spread the benefits of economic development to all countries but also emphasised that South-South cooperation remains the key to unlocking the economic potential in developing countries.