Herald Reporter

A SPECIAL envoy from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday delivered a special invitation to President Mugabe from the leader of the Islamic Republic to attend the G-15 Summit scheduled for Teheran from May 17 to 19.

Mr Mohammad Abbasi, who is Iran’s Minister of Co-operatives, delivered the invitation to President Mugabe at his Munhumutapa Offices yesterday

President Ahmadinejad is expected in Zimbabwe tomorrow to officially open the 51st edition of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.

Speaking soon after delivering the invitation, Mr Abbasi said the G-15 was an initiative to improve relations between developing countries.

"I was here to present an invitation for the G-15 Summit to be held in Iran. It is there to improve South-South relations," he said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi said the G-15 was an important link for the development of members of the Non-Aligned Movement.

"The G-15 is one of the most important groups to look after the economic and developmental aspects of the NAM.

"The initiative, which has been taken by Iran, is important in relations of South-South co-operation," he said.

Minister Mumbengegwi said there was also need to establish South-South media agencies to report news from developing countries’ perspectives.

"Airwaves are dominated by Western agencies.

"There is need to cover situations from the perspective of developing countries," Minister Mumbengegwi said

The G-15 is a group of developing countries established at the ninth NAM Summit in 1989 with a common vision to foster growth and development among members.

It promotes North-South dialogue and is currently made up of 17 members drawn from Africa, Asia and Latin America.