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133 nations' leaders

arrive in Havana for

major summit

HAVANA: Seeking a united voice in facing rich nations, dozens of leaders from the world's developing countries were gathering in Cuba to call for a greater share of the world's power and wealth.

It is the first time that "Group 77," of 133-nation founded in 1964, is holding a summit at the level of heads of state. Until now, the organisation has been a bloc within the United Nations.

Working meetings of lower-level officials began on Monday. Talks by heads of state were to take place on Wednesday and Thursday.

The organisation Chairman Arthur Mbanefo of Nigeria, told a news conference on Monday that the summit would look for ways to expand the benefits of globalisation to poorer nations and to help them fit into the modern information-based society.

Mbafeno, ambassador of Nigeria to the United Nations, also indicated the group may urged debt relief. "We would like to see a situation where some of this debt is cancelled," he said, noting that some countries spend twice as much servicing their debts as they do on social services.

The summit is "unmistakable proof that our countries want our voice to be heard, that the interest of our countries, which are the majority, be taken into account," Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told a news conference on Monday.

Cuban and summit officials estimated that more than 60 heads of state or government would appear along with scores of foreign ministers and other senior officials. By Monday, 122 member countries had sent delegations, as had 34 non member countries and 35 international organisations.

Nigerian President Olusegun Obansanjo and Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong were already in Havana on Monday. Also expected were UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and leaders of Indonesia, South Africa, Cambodia, Venezuela, Pakistan and Palestine.ÑAPP/AP