Global South summit opens in Qatar

DOHA, Qatar, June 15 (UPI) -- Qatari Emir Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani called for a special fund for development and fighting poverty in countries of the Global South.

Thani, in a speech inaugurating the Third World summit in Doha Wednesday, said Qatar is willing to contribute an initial $20 million to the proposed fund to deal with economic, social, health and educational problems.

"We need a comprehensive vision to enable the countries of the group to face challenges effectively and to achieve a balance between security needs and development requirements which are closely interrelated," Thani told the conference of developing countries, which include 77 Global South countries and China.

The Qatari News Agency quoted him as saying that "globalization opened new frontiers and opportunities whose benefits, however, did not reach all developing countries."

The Qatari emir also called for close cooperation between countries of the South and China in view of the latter's international economic weight.