DEAD SEA, Jordan, 20 May 2007 — The 11 lower-middle income countries forming the so-called G-11 group, ended a one-day summit yesterday by pledging commitment to shared goals, including sustainable development, homegrown reforms, the rule of law, democratization and fighting corruption and terrorism.
“We reaffirmed our commitment and shared goals to achieve sustained growth, fulfill our aspirations to meet the millennium development goals and make a stronger contribution to the global economy,” a conference communiqué said.
“We also reaffirmed our commitment to accelerate the implementation of homegrown reform, enhance fiscal prudence and apply sound monetary policies, improve governance, combat corruption, strengthen the rule of law, accelerate democratization and liberalization ... and continue to fight global terrorism.”
The conference was opened earlier in the day by Jordan’s King Abdallah who said the group faced “a challenge to consolidate these gains and sustain progress into the long-run”.
“In this regard, the G-11 has identified four priority areas for international support and cooperation-debt burden alleviation, investment promotion, trade development and targeted grant assistance,” he said.
The G-11 group comprises Jordan, Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Honduras, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay and Sri Lanka.
