DOHA, June 16: Third World countries ended their summit here on Thursday with a call on rich nations to boost aid and the creation of a development fund with an initial $20 million contribution from host country, Qatar.

Delegates unanimously approved Qatar’s proposal for setting up the “South Fund for Development and Humanitarian Aid” and welcomed Doha’s contribution at the close of the two-day summit.

The final communique, dubbed the Doha Declaration, praised China and India for contributing $2 million each and appealed to other “capable nations” to give to the fund, which will be based in Doha.

The Group of 77 and China called on to rich nations to “urgently meet the internationally agreed Official Development Assistance (ODA) target of 0.7 per cent of donor countries’ Gross National Product (GNP).”

The increase would pump tens of billions of dollars into poor nations, whose economies are crippled by lack of finance and huge foreign debt.—AFP