Third World seeks balance

Leaders of poor nations winding up their summit here today issued proposals to the chiefs of rich states aimed at balancing a global economy growing ever more skewed toward the wealthy.

The message from the five-day south summit of 132 developing countries was timed to tweak the consciences of leaders of the rich world, now girding for next month's g8 summit in Scotland.

"Unprecedented wealth is being created but too many countries are being denied a share of it," said Jamaican PM R P J Patterson, chairman of the group of 77 developing countries.

The gathering brought hundreds of third world heads of state and other top officials to this tiny gulf sheikdom. Patterson called on the g8 to include poor countries in its discussions.

"We always meet separately," patterson said. "What is the reason we can never meet together for common dialogue?"

G7 leaders issued proposals that economists believe would help downtrodden states emerge from a "poverty trap" of debt and underdevelopment.