By IANS,
Tehran : Foreign ministers of the Group of 15 (G15) developing countries, including India, began their three-day meeting here Saturday, with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki expressing the hope they would be able to find solutions to the global economic crisis.
“The current economic downturn has made a difficult situation for developing countries,” Mottaki said in his opening address.
“These countries face serious challenges with the expansion of unemployment rate, fall of exports and income and social and political instabilities,” he was quoted as saying by Iranian news agency ISNA.
Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna will hold wide-ranging discussions with Mottaki on bilateral, regional and global issues Sunday, official sources said. The two ministers are also set to discuss the proposed $7.5 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline project.
The G15 was established at the 9th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit at Belgrade in September 1989, with a common goal of enhanced growth and prosperity in its member states.
Iran chaired the rotating chairmanship of the summit in 2005 in Cuba and will be replaced by Sri Lanka this year.