Group of Eleven is a forum, constituted by mostly developing countries

Developing country

A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...

 aimed at easing their debt

Developing countries' debt

The debt of developing countries is external debt incurred by governments of developing countries, generally in quantities beyond the governments' political ability to repay...

 burden (See also: government debt

Government debt

Government debt is money owed by a central government. In the US, "government debt" may also refer to the debt of a municipal or local government...

), narrowing the income gap with rich countries

Developed country

A developed country is a country that has a high level of development according to some criteria. Which criteria, and which countries are classified as being developed, is a contentious issue...

 and lifting millions of people out of poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

.

Objective

The group of eleven is a forum, constituted by mostly developing countries aimed at easing their debt burden and narrowing the gap with rich countries to lift, ‘millions out of poverty’. The specific aim is to garner market access and writing off of the debt burden so that these countries can focus all their resources on generating growth and stability.

Creation

The group was created on 20 September 2006. The group comprises mostly, lower middle income countries.

Members

The members consist of Jordan

Jordan

Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...

, Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

, Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

, El Salvador

El Salvador

El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

, Honduras

Honduras

Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...

, Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

, and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

.
The request is made to the G8

G8

The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...

.

May 2007 summit

G11 developing countries at their Summit at the Jordanian Dead Sea resort have agreed to push for cooperation with G8 industrialized nations to ease their debts and build prosperous economies. These countries and in fact most of the developing countries require fiscal and monetary space to maintain momentum on progress to lay the foundation for a diversified and sustainable economic growth.

The group asked for exploring avenues for enhancing cooperation among member states to shape their future development needs and strategies as well as greater cooperation with international partners for market access, enhanced productive capacities and development of scientific and technological skills and converting debts to financing aid projects.

G11 countries need targeted assistance and support from the developed countries to accelerate growth, lift millions from poverty and hasten the delivery of the fruits of reforms and social development to larger segments of their population. The G11 group need to enter into political dialogue with the G8 countries for their support to meet development objectives, encourage investment and have greater market access.

Outstanding Debt on the developing countries places a great burden on export earnings and fiscal revenues. Moreover tariffs imposed by the G8 and other developed countries on imports are the major hurdles in the way of improving the living standard of the peoples of the developing and under developed countries through export led growth.

G11 proposal on debt

The G11 argues that it is in the interest of the G8 and others to enter into arrangement with the indebted countries and convert the debts into assistance for social development projects so that the poor masses could reap the fruits of development. This would help in reducing the gap between the rich and the poor, create more job opportunities, alleviate poverty and contribute to creating an atmosphere of goodwill, fraternity and understanding among the peoples leading to the cherished objective of prosperity, peace and stability around the globe.

External links

http://www.groupofeleven.org Group of Eleven Official Website.