VISITING Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Tuesday invited African countries to share the cost of the launch and use of his country’s third satellite in 2004 to boost South-South cooperation and to promote the continent’s image worldwide. Speaking at the end of the four-day Global 2001 Smart Partnership International Dialogue in Kampala, Mahathir said that a satellite with 24C-band and 12 Ku-band transponders would be launched to compliment two others that cover South East Asia. “While the costs may be prohibitive for you to start your own satellites, we could share the satellite to lower costs and enable African countries to reach out to Europe, South East Asia, Australia and the US,” Mohammad told business people from Africa, Malaysian and Caribbean countries. – AFP