ID :
11887
Tue, 07/08/2008 - 15:25
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/11887
The shortlink copeid
G-8 vows to support Africa over food crisis, honor pledges
TOYAKO, Japan, July 8 (Kyodo_ - Leaders of the Group of Eight nations vowed Monday to help Africa overcome the food crisis with better agricultural productivity as they started their summitin northern Japan, taking up the challenges of drawing up initiatives to tackle climate change, food security and fuel price rises.
The G-8 was told by the heads of seven key African countries to honor past aid commitments as well as exercise leadership in supporting the poor nations most severely affected by the food and oil price surges, including helping them become self-sufficient in their food supplies, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
At an outreach dialogue with the African leaders, the G-8 expressed grave concern over the political chaos in Zimbabwe, 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.
The African leaders 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 under the World Trade Organization to enable better market access for African agricultural products.
The input at the session between the G-8 and African leaders will be reflected in core 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 leaders are set to issue a special statement on the food security issue on Tuesday, stipulating their support to help double Africa's food production and the establishment of food stockpiles in member nations to enable swift provision of aid in emergencies.
The African leaders said they understood the G-8's concerns regarding Zimbabwe. But there was also some expression of reluctance to pressure Zimbabwe to change its political regime on the grounds that it could exacerbate internal conflicts, 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, another Japanese official said earlier.
Meanwhile, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika told Fukuda separately that opinions among African nations differ but that actions that may aggravate the situation must be avoided.
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 for 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 view 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.
On climate change, expected to be a major topic in the G-8 discussions Tuesday and Wednesday, Fukuda stressed in talks with South African President Thabo Mbeki the importance for all major greenhouse gas emitters to take part in setting a long-term target for emission cuts and called for South Africa's cooperation.
''We can't come up with irresponsible figures on the mid-term target by 2020,'' Fukuda was quoted by a Japanese official as saying. ''It is important to agree on a figure that is acceptable technologically and scientifically.''''A figure that cannot be realized will be meaningless,'' he said, adding he hopes the G-8 and other nations can discuss an approach in greater detail.
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, where climate change is expected to top the agenda.
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.
Fatigue from traveling and the summit's tight schedules have apparently taken their toll already.
On Monday afternoon, African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping was taken to hospital in Sapporo after complaining of feeling unwell during the outreach session, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. He was not in a serious condition.
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.
The G-8 was told by the heads of seven key African countries to honor past aid commitments as well as exercise leadership in supporting the poor nations most severely affected by the food and oil price surges, including helping them become self-sufficient in their food supplies, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said.
At an outreach dialogue with the African leaders, the G-8 expressed grave concern over the political chaos in Zimbabwe, 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.
The African leaders 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 under the World Trade Organization to enable better market access for African agricultural products.
The input at the session between the G-8 and African leaders will be reflected in core 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 leaders are set to issue a special statement on the food security issue on Tuesday, stipulating their support to help double Africa's food production and the establishment of food stockpiles in member nations to enable swift provision of aid in emergencies.
The African leaders said they understood the G-8's concerns regarding Zimbabwe. But there was also some expression of reluctance to pressure Zimbabwe to change its political regime on the grounds that it could exacerbate internal conflicts, 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, another Japanese official said earlier.
Meanwhile, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika told Fukuda separately that opinions among African nations differ but that actions that may aggravate the situation must be avoided.
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 for 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 view 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.
On climate change, expected to be a major topic in the G-8 discussions Tuesday and Wednesday, Fukuda stressed in talks with South African President Thabo Mbeki the importance for all major greenhouse gas emitters to take part in setting a long-term target for emission cuts and called for South Africa's cooperation.
''We can't come up with irresponsible figures on the mid-term target by 2020,'' Fukuda was quoted by a Japanese official as saying. ''It is important to agree on a figure that is acceptable technologically and scientifically.''''A figure that cannot be realized will be meaningless,'' he said, adding he hopes the G-8 and other nations can discuss an approach in greater detail.
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, where climate change is expected to top the agenda.
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.
Fatigue from traveling and the summit's tight schedules have apparently taken their toll already.
On Monday afternoon, African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping was taken to hospital in Sapporo after complaining of feeling unwell during the outreach session, a Japanese Foreign Ministry official said. He was not in a serious condition.
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.
