G-8 announces $20 bil. in food security aid over 3 yrs+

L'AQUILA, Italy, July 10 Kyodo -
The Group of Eight leaders said Friday the countries that gathered in the
central Italian city of L'Aquila for G-8 summit-related meetings aim to
mobilize a total of $20 billion over the coming three years to respond to
hunger and poverty in Africa and other developing nations.

In a joint statement concerning global food security issued as the leaders
wrapped up their three-day talks, the G-8 and its dialogue partners said, ''We
welcome the commitments made by countries represented at L'Aquila toward a goal
of mobilizing $20 billion over three years.''
Of the total, Japan intends to contribute around $3 billion, Japanese officials
said.
The food security initiative by the G-8 countries comes as the number of people
suffering from hunger has been increasing worldwide amid the global economic
crisis and with food prices remaining at historically high levels after peaking
last year.
In the G-8's session Friday morning with outreach partners, Japanese Prime
Minister Taro Aso said his country will commit at least $3 billion in helping
to boost farming and related infrastructure in developing nations from 2010 to
2012, according to a Japanese official.
Aso also proposed launching a forum aimed at building a ''sound'' farmland
investment system in developing nations, warning that high food prices have
triggered land buyouts by foreign investors, the official said.
Japan is eyeing holding such a meeting of related officials from the G-8 as
well as international organizations concerned on the sidelines of the United
Nations General Assembly scheduled for September in New York.
The total food security aid was earlier estimated at around $15 billion, but
the leaders at Friday's session showed a stronger commitment to helping the
world's poor and decided to increase the amount, the official said.
Earlier in the day, African nations asked the G-8 leaders from Britain, Canada,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States to step up their
efforts in assistance to the continent, which has taken the brunt of the
world's economic recession as well as global warming, according to the
officials.
In the separate outreach session, leaders of African nations complained that
they have emitted hardly any greenhouse gases, which cause global warming, but
that they are the ones affected most badly by the phenomenon, the officials
said.
They also sought the steady implementation by the G-8 countries of the pledges
on official development assistance made at their Gleneagles summit in 2005 as
well as the commitments made at the Group of 20 financial summit in April.
Following the morning session, the G-8 issued a statement on water and
sanitation, in which the countries expressed determination to ''build a
stronger partnership between African and G-8 countries to increase access to
water and sanitation.''
They also said the G-8 members will help capacity building in African nations
so they will be able to work out and implement water and sanitation programs at
the national level as well as improve ''bilateral and multilateral
contributions to financial mechanisms aimed at mobilizing investment.''
On Wednesday, the G-8 leaders reaffirmed the need to at least halve global
greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as agreed upon during last year's summit in
Japan, and urged developed nations as a whole to slash heat-trapping gas
emissions by 80 percent or more compared to 1990 or more recent years.
But the next day, they failed to narrow gaps with emerging and developing
nations over the long-term global emissions cut target, with developing
countries demanding that the rich nations do more.
On the political front, the G-8 leaders agreed to beef up the nuclear
nonproliferation regime, condemned North Korea for its nuclear and missile
development programs, and criticized Iran for its crackdown on election
protesters.
In outreach sessions, they agreed with emerging economies to aim to complete
the stalled free trade talks under the World Trade Organization next year.
==Kyodo