The Doha Development Forum has begun in the Qatari capital drawing a range of speakers including President of the Czech Republic Vaclav Klaus and former Lebanese Prime Minister Salim al-Huss.

The two-day conference is aimed at tackling sustainable development and good governance issues.

"Qatar's chairmanship of the 77 Group and China has resulted in a search for international consent of views on development," Qatar's Amir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani told the opening session on Saturday.

"This forum aims at deepening dialogue, exchanging of information and benefitting from advanced expertise," he said in a speech that was delivered by the prime minister, Shaikh Abd Allah bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Klaus spoke on the trials of reforming his economy after years of communist rule.

"You had to privatise three or four companies a year," he said to another speaker former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson. "We had to privatise three or four an hour."

Other speakers at the conference included former Lebanese ministers Fuad Siniura and Ghassan Salama as well as business figures.