Iran slams capitalism at G15 opening

The G15 summit has opened in Tehran with Iranian president blaming capitalist powers for causing the economic crisis with “deception, materialism and monopoly.”

“Such policies have resulted in the downfall of the world economic order. As a result, billions of dollars in losses were imposed on the world economy. Poverty and food crisis have spread in poor countries,” said Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday.

“The developing countries have also shouldered massive cuts and losses. The world economy’s reliance on the principles of liberal capitalism and these recent incidents show that this system of thought [capitalism] has lost in practice,” he added.

Ahmadinejad was speaking at the opening ceremony of the 14th summit of the Group of 15 developing countries.

The gathering brings together senior representatives and policymakers from the 18 Asian, African and Latin American states that make up the group.

The G15 summit will focus on a range of issues, including the global financial crisis, which started in the US. Energy, security and environmental issues will also be on the agenda.