ID :
11860
Tue, 07/08/2008 - 11:40
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https://oananews.org//node/11860
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G-8 voices concern over Zimbabwe as summit focuses on Africa, food
TOYAKO, Japan, July 8 (Kyodo) - eaders of the Group of Eight nations voiced concern Monday over the political chaos in Zimbabwe as they started their summit in northern Japan, taking up the pressing challenges of drawing up initiatives to tackle climate change, foodsecurity and fuel price rises.
Meanwhile, the heads of seven key African countries urged the G-8 to exercise leadership in supporting poor nations most severely affected by the food and oil price surges and in helping Africa improve agricultural productivity to become self-sufficient in its food supply, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
The African leaders also called on the leading economic powers to fulfill their commitments on African development, including those made in previous summits, and to press forward with the early conclusion of the Doha Round of trade liberalization negotiations to enable better market access for African agricultural products.
The input will be reflected in core G-8 sessions Tuesday when the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States meet exclusively at the Lake Toya resort in Hokkaido.
The G-8 raised the issue of Zimbabwe in the dialogue with the African leaders, condemning President Robert Mugabe's one-man election on June 27 as lacking legitimacy and calling for an ''early solution'' to the situation, the official said, while citing summit protocol in declining to identify who made the remarks.
In response, the African leaders said they understood the G-8's concerns. But there was also some expression of reluctance to pressure Zimbabwe to change the political regime on the grounds that it could exacerbate internal conflicts.
The opinion was also expressed on the African side that it will only be another few years before Mugabe retires from politics in any case, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In bilateral talks with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in the morning, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stressed the importance of having the G-8 call for the upholding of democracy in Zimbabwe and Fukuda agreed on the need for the group to discuss the issue in depth and take appropriate responses, another Japanese official said earlier.
A main concern at the summit is medium- and long-term support forinfrastructure and capacity building to secure sustainable and stable food supplies in Africa, the continent hardest-hit by soaring food and fuel prices.
The leaders agreed to place emphasis on support in agriculture, in response to the African nations request for technology transfer and financial assistance to improve productivity.
''It is important to see this summit as arguably the most important G-8 summit for a decade,'' Max Lawson, policy adviser of aid agency Oxfam, said. ''The world is clearly facing multiple crises, serious economic problems both in rich and poor countries. But it's poor countries that suffer the most.''At the dialogue, the G-8 and African leaders shared the consensus that, while not an easy task, efforts on both sides must be made to create the environment for Africa to meet the U.N. eight-point set of Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 target, the official said.
''I hope this G-8 summit, held amid a load of issues such as the world economy, global warming and progress on reaching the MDGs, will send a clear message that we as the G-8 will act together,'' Fukuda was quoted as saying in talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the morning.
The G-8 nations reiterated their commitments particularly in terms of health-related issues, on which many African countries are behind schedule for reaching the targets. Assistance on water security, desertification, energy and greenhouse gas emissions cuts was also mentioned.
The heads of Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, the African Union Commission, the United Nations and the World Bank attended Monday's outreach session.
The G-8 has also invited South Africa, along with four other major emerging economies -- Brazil, China, India and Mexico -- to another outreach dialogue session on Wednesday.
In addition, Australia, Indonesia and South Korea will join the G-8 and the five emerging economies at the U.S.-initiated Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change, also on Wednesday.
In terms of the number of participating world leaders, this is the largest summit since the first in 1975. The involvement of key countries outside of the club also reflects the G-8's recognition that the major powers themselves can no longer go it alone in the face of multiple global-level crises.
Fukuda also held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the main summit events in the afternoon, namely with his counterparts from South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria.
The G-8 and other leaders are meeting amid intense security across Hokkaido and major cities throughout Japan, with about 20,000 police officers mobilized to seal off access to the summit venue that is tucked away on top of a hill.
Meanwhile, the heads of seven key African countries urged the G-8 to exercise leadership in supporting poor nations most severely affected by the food and oil price surges and in helping Africa improve agricultural productivity to become self-sufficient in its food supply, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
The African leaders also called on the leading economic powers to fulfill their commitments on African development, including those made in previous summits, and to press forward with the early conclusion of the Doha Round of trade liberalization negotiations to enable better market access for African agricultural products.
The input will be reflected in core G-8 sessions Tuesday when the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States meet exclusively at the Lake Toya resort in Hokkaido.
The G-8 raised the issue of Zimbabwe in the dialogue with the African leaders, condemning President Robert Mugabe's one-man election on June 27 as lacking legitimacy and calling for an ''early solution'' to the situation, the official said, while citing summit protocol in declining to identify who made the remarks.
In response, the African leaders said they understood the G-8's concerns. But there was also some expression of reluctance to pressure Zimbabwe to change the political regime on the grounds that it could exacerbate internal conflicts.
The opinion was also expressed on the African side that it will only be another few years before Mugabe retires from politics in any case, according to the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In bilateral talks with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in the morning, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stressed the importance of having the G-8 call for the upholding of democracy in Zimbabwe and Fukuda agreed on the need for the group to discuss the issue in depth and take appropriate responses, another Japanese official said earlier.
A main concern at the summit is medium- and long-term support forinfrastructure and capacity building to secure sustainable and stable food supplies in Africa, the continent hardest-hit by soaring food and fuel prices.
The leaders agreed to place emphasis on support in agriculture, in response to the African nations request for technology transfer and financial assistance to improve productivity.
''It is important to see this summit as arguably the most important G-8 summit for a decade,'' Max Lawson, policy adviser of aid agency Oxfam, said. ''The world is clearly facing multiple crises, serious economic problems both in rich and poor countries. But it's poor countries that suffer the most.''At the dialogue, the G-8 and African leaders shared the consensus that, while not an easy task, efforts on both sides must be made to create the environment for Africa to meet the U.N. eight-point set of Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 target, the official said.
''I hope this G-8 summit, held amid a load of issues such as the world economy, global warming and progress on reaching the MDGs, will send a clear message that we as the G-8 will act together,'' Fukuda was quoted as saying in talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the morning.
The G-8 nations reiterated their commitments particularly in terms of health-related issues, on which many African countries are behind schedule for reaching the targets. Assistance on water security, desertification, energy and greenhouse gas emissions cuts was also mentioned.
The heads of Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, the African Union Commission, the United Nations and the World Bank attended Monday's outreach session.
The G-8 has also invited South Africa, along with four other major emerging economies -- Brazil, China, India and Mexico -- to another outreach dialogue session on Wednesday.
In addition, Australia, Indonesia and South Korea will join the G-8 and the five emerging economies at the U.S.-initiated Major Economies Meeting on Energy Security and Climate Change, also on Wednesday.
In terms of the number of participating world leaders, this is the largest summit since the first in 1975. The involvement of key countries outside of the club also reflects the G-8's recognition that the major powers themselves can no longer go it alone in the face of multiple global-level crises.
Fukuda also held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the main summit events in the afternoon, namely with his counterparts from South Africa, Algeria and Nigeria.
The G-8 and other leaders are meeting amid intense security across Hokkaido and major cities throughout Japan, with about 20,000 police officers mobilized to seal off access to the summit venue that is tucked away on top of a hill.
