6 presidents arrive in Tehran for G15 summit

TEHRAN, May 16 (MNA) -- Six presidents have arrived in Tehran to attend the G15 Summit, which will be held on Monday.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade along with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will preside over the meeting, are set to hold talks on challenges facing independent and developing countries during the summit.

The Group of 15, a group of 18 developing countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, was set up to foster cooperation and provide input for other international groups.

It is comprised of Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Kenya, Nigeria, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

The Monday's summit will also be attended by Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Indian Foreign Minister SM Krishna, Indonesian Industry Minister MS Hidayat, Malaysian Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Husni Hanadzlah, Chilean president’s special envoy Osvaldo Álvarez-Pérez, and Egyptian Minister of Investment Mahmoud Mohieddin.

Kenya’s ambassadors to Geneva and Tehran, the Nigerian and Mexican ambassadors to Tehran, Argentina’s permanent representative to Geneva along with its chargé d'affaires to Tehran will represent their countries in the summit.

Russian Ambassador in Tehran Alexander Sadovnikov will also participate in the event.