Related pages: Africa Gleneagles
Follow Up |
Africa Gleneagles Follow Up - Questions and Answers |
Gleneagles Implementation Plan for Africa
| Two years on from the UK Presidency of the G8
The G8
The G8 stands for the 'Group of Eight' nations. It began in 1975 when the
leaders of Japan, the USA, Germany, France, the UK and Italy met in Rambouillet,
near Paris, to discuss the economic problems of the day. Canada joined in 1976
and Russia in 1998. This year the Presidency rests with Germany.
At the summits, the leaders discuss major issues of the day. They reach
informal agreements on measures that they can take individually, but in
cooperation, to achieve their goals more effectively. At each summit, leaders
agree upon certain initiatives and there are follow-up meetings throughout the
year to make sure commitments are being honoured. In recent years, leaders of
other countries have been invited to ‘outreach’ sessions at the summits (the
choice of countries usually depends on the issues being discussed). So, for
example, at the 2005 G8 summit in Gleneagles, the UK invited the Heads of State
of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa to discuss climate change, and
African leaders from Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa
and Tanzania to discuss issues surrounding Africa.
G8 summits are hugely important if we are to manage the effects of
globalisation, a task more relevant today than ever. The G8 can secure political
commitment to action on key global issues. From a traditional focus on
international economic and political issues, the G8 now frequently discusses
issues related to international development. As well as being an opportunity for
the world's leaders to discuss major issues, recent G8 summits have achieved
many concrete things such as:
- Setting up the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the
Global Fund)
- Establishing a new relationship with Africa with the G8 Africa Action Plan in
response to the African-led New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)
- Making safe nuclear facilities in Russia, through the Global Partnership
Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction
- Launching the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative, an agreed
process for cancelling the debt of the world's poorest countries
- Action against money laundering (through the Financial Action Task Forces),
which many other countries have now joined.
More information on the G8 process as a whole can be found at the University
of Toronto’sG8 Information Centre.
Further information
Last updated: 27 April 2007
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