WHAT DO G-15 COUNTRIES HAVE IN COMMON?
G-15 countries together are responsible for 25% of global crude oil
output with Iran, Mexico, Venezuela, Nigeria, Brazil and Algeria among the
world’s leading producers of oil and natural gas. Some member countries
are abundantly endowed with extractive resources such as copper (Chile): nickel
and tin (Indonesia). Many
are the world’s leading producers of commodities like sugar (Brazil,
India); tea (India, Kenya, Sri Lanka); coffee (Brazil);
cocoa (Indonesia, Nigeria, Brazil); rubber (Indonesia, Malaysia);
cassava (Nigeria, Brazil, Indonesia) and oil-seeds (Brazil, Argentina). Some have relatively developed economies with large
diversified industrial bases (Brazil, India, Mexico), developed
infrastructure (Chile, Malaysia) and advanced technological
capabilities in critical areas like pharmaceuticals (Argentina, Brazil,
India) and information technology (Malaysia, India, Argentina).
In
2007, G-15 countries accounted for one-third of the world’s population,
and 27% of total exports and 30% of total imports of goods and services
by developing countries. In terms of GDP size, 12 member countries
counted among the world’s 50 biggest economies, with three (India,
Brazil, Mexico) ranking among the biggest 15.
Six G-15
countries (Brazil, Mexico, Chile, India, Malaysia, Argentina) ranked
among the top 30 destinations for foreign direct investment, and three
(Malaysia, Chile, India) figured among the first 30 countries on the
global competitiveness index.