Heads of state and government leaders from the Group of 77 plus China wrapped up a two-day summit Thursday in Doha, with participants stressing south-south cooperation and urging rich nations to boost aid.

At the closing session, the Doha Declaration and a plan of action were approved, which stressed more cooperation between developing countries to eradicate poverty and achieve progress, as a renewal to the Havana Declaration adopted by the first G77 plus China summit held in Cuba in April, 2000.

Qatar's Permanent UN Ambassador Naser Abdel-Aziz Al-Nasir said the final statement gives top priority to development-related issues, including south-south cooperation, fight against poverty and hunger as well as the promotion of education.

Participants in the summit agreed to establish a Qatar-based development fund, which has attracted some 40 million US dollars of donation.

Qatar, host of the summit, pledged 20 million dollars to the " South Fund for Development and Human Circumstances", and China pledged 2 million dollars.

Mohammad Al-Rumaihi, Qatari Assistance Foreign Minister for Follow-up Affairs and Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the summit, said the fund will not be subject to political conditions but economic criteria.

The fund will have a board consisting of representatives from seven rich countries of the G77, the official said, adding the board members will not need the assistance of the fund and their work will be transparent.

G77 and China also called on rich nations to "urgently meet the internationally agreed Official Development Assistance (ODA) target of 0.7 percent of donor countries' Gross National Product (GNP)," the statement said.

The action plan calls for enhancing cooperation among member states and urges the G77 members to adopt appropriate measures and policies suitable to their own national interests and priorities to achieve development.

It also acknowledges that total reliance on market mechanism is insufficient to meet the challenges of development in the world heading toward greater globalization.

The second summit of the G77 plus China, also known as the second South Summit, kicked off in the Qatari capital of Doha on Wednesday, gathering 32 heads of state in addition to prime ministers, foreign ministers and senior officials of over 130 member states.

Source: Xinhua