DOHA, 13 May 2005 — Some 60 heads of state and many prime ministers, including Britain’s Tony Blair, will attend the second Group of 77 and China South Summit in Doha on June 15-16, a senior Qatari official said yesterday.
“Around 60 heads of state and a large number of heads of government and ministers will attend the biggest global summit to be held in the Middle East,” Assistant Foreign Minister Mohammad Al-Rumaihi told reporters.
The heads of state will get together on June 15-16, but their summit will be preceded by preparatory meetings of foreign ministers and other senior officials, he said.
Qatar expects to host more than 5,000 people between June 10 and 17 in connection with the summit, including some 1,500 participants, 3,000 aides and bodyguards and 800 journalists, Rumaihi said. The deliberations will focus on “strategic issues of concern to the South... The main goal is to promote development and tackle problems which hamper (economic growth) in member states,” he said.
The summit will also look into trade within the group and relations with the North, the Qatari official said.
He added that Blair would address the summit on behalf of the Group of Eight industrialized nations to explain his proposals to solve debt problems.
