His Majesty King Abdullah attended Saturday the signing ceremony of the G-11 framework agreement on economic, trade and cultural cooperation among member states.

The agreement was signed during the closing session of the G-11 summit at the Dead Sea.

King Abdullah hosted a luncheon in honor of heads of participating delegations and other senior officials attending the event.

The signing ceremony was attended by President of Croatia Stjepan Mesic, President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa, Moroccan Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi, Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, Royal Court Chief Nasser Lozi, King Abdullah's Advisor Ayman Safadi and a number of officials.

The Group of Eleven, a Jordanian initiative, aims to mobilise cooperation among lower and middle-income states and rally international support to develop their economies.

The G-11 consists of Croatia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Georgia, Honduras, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Sri Lanka and Jordan.

The agreement marks a new working stage of the group and an institutional framework for boosting partnerships among member countries.

Prime Minister Nader Dahabi earlier opened the meeting of the G-11 and said the alliance brings together lower-middle income and other countries dedicated to the serious path of development.

In a speech at the opening session, Dahabi said each of the countries has “sought to serve its people through bold, effective programs and reforms that will advance economic opportunity and growth.”

These countries, he added, worked to give the G-11 a greater voice on the international stage and to help each other through economic engagement and knowledge-sharing.

"Today's global economic crisis has sent huge ripples across the developing economies,” Dahabi said. “The economic downturn that has slowed private investment flows, has also threatened the resources available for foreign aid and other official assistance. And of course, debt burdens remain a significant drain on many of our countries."

The G-11 countries have much to be proud of, including an impressive growth record.

This economic success has contributed tremendously to opportunity and development, he said, adding that the G-20 appears to recognise the needs of lower and middle-income countries.

During the recent meeting, G-20 leaders committed to helping developing economies - pledging a full-scale effort to restore growth and long-term fiscal sustainability.

“This commitment stems, in part, from our own hard work, in reaching out to build cooperation with the G-8 and the other countries of the G-20," the prime minister said.

"In His Majesty King Abdullah's meetings in Germany and elsewhere, we have seen a real recognition of the key role that lower-middle-income countries play in economic stability and recovery, both within regions and on a global level," he added.

But the work is just beginning, Dahabi said.

"It is vital to remain active in working with the G-8 and G-20, in order to move forward on the full range of our priority initiatives - debt burden alleviation, investment promotion, trade development, and targeted grant assistance," he said.

The premier also stressed the importance of the G-11's own interconnections, pointing to the new G-11 framework agreement on economic, trade and cultural cooperation that was signed.

"These, and other ties, are crucial to helping us capitalize on our countries' strengths and manage global economic impacts," he said.

The G-11 countries, he said, will continue to develop new and creative approaches, not just to survive the global downturn, but to emerge in a better position than ever to achieve goals for healthy, thriving economies that are rich with opportunity and promise.

The Croatian president also delivered a speech in which he said that the G-11 had occupied a position on the international arena.

The importance of the group, he said, had further become apparent after the global economic downturn, which spared no country and hit most of the countries, mainly the middle-income ones.

The president of Sri Lanka also expressed admiration for King Abdullah's stance on the Palestinian issue and the Middle East peace.

He emphasised the importance of partnership among developing and developed nations to counter the global challenges, mainly the economic and developmental ones.

For partnership to succeed, peace should be achieved and terrorism must be eliminated through new mechanisms to address it.

The Moroccan prime minister also commended King Abdullah's vision in establishing the G-11 and mapping its future role. He voiced Morocco's support for Jordan's continued regional leadership.

Pakistan's representative to the meeting, Minister of Investment Waqar Ahmed Khan said his country hoped for greater cooperation between the G-11 and G-8 to weather the repercussions of the global financial crisis and help lower and middle-income countries to face the crisis.

Indonesian Minister for State-Owned Enterprises' Affairs Sofian Djalil said the World Economic Forum on the Middle East was a good chance to discuss the global financial downturn, adding that all countries were hit by the crisis and millions of people have lost their livelihoods. He added that the export industry had been hardest his, forcing countries to resort to protectionism to aid their economies.

Constructive cooperation, he said, was needed to face the crisis, urging the G-11 to play a vital role to restore stability in all walks of life.

The representative of Honduras called for greater cooperation among G-11 members, underlining his country's commitment to achieving sustainable development in all the G-11 countries and to cooperating with developed countries to fight poverty and face the global downturn.

El Salvador's representative expressed appreciation for Jordan's initiative to hold the second summit of the group to cement ties among its member-states and underlined the importance of coordinating efforts with donors to find a suitable funding system in addition to boosting openness.

The representative of Ecuador said the G-11 countries faced the same economic, social and human challenges, adding the economic downturn could create opportunities to study these countries' needs and develop fiscal alternatives to restructure debt.

Paraguay's representative said the group opened channels of dialogue and cooperation among its members on one hand and the international community on the other.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said the G-11 initiative was a practical one in that it supports work and cooperation among its members, in light of the global financial crisis.

The financial downturn could be an opportunity for reform and to develop economies' competitiveness, he said.

The G-11 issued a communiqué in which conferees expressed appreciation to King Abdullah for international his efforts to promote the G11 initiative.

The final statement said that the group discussed the latest developments emanating from the global economic crisis and implications for lower-middle income countries.

The meeting underscored the importance of implementing the commitments outlined at the G-20 Summit in London last month to support developing economies as they cope with economic challenges resulting from the global financial crisis and work restore growth and long term fiscal sustainability.

The group emphasised the susceptibility of G-11 countries to external shocks and stressed commitment to the G-11 White Paper and the importance of working collectively to face these challenges, including debt issues.

It also welcomed progress in the work of the G-11 working group and in the formulation of the Framework Agreement on Economic, Trade and Cultural Cooperation among the G-11 countries.

It was agreed that the G-11 working group will follow-up the implementation of the agreement and present new initiatives, particularly in the area of engaging the G-11 private sector.

The group welcomed the initiative of the G-11 Presidency to invite business leaders from member countries to participate at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and on the sidelines of the G11 Meeting.

It also welcomed the progress in the dialogue initiated by the G-11 Presidency with the G-8 Presidency in Berlin in 2007 and emphasized the importance of pursuing this dialogue between the two groups on more specific areas of cooperation.

The G-11 agreed on the rotation of the presidency in 2009.

Members also agreed that the outgoing Jordanian G-11 Presidency will coordinate with the G-11 member states regarding this rotation.

The meeting took note of Croatia's request to participate in the G-11 Dead Sea Meeting as an observer.

The date and venue of the next G-11 summit will be decided by the upcoming Presidency, the final statement concluded.