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G8: Gleneagles 2005: Chairman's Summary
G8
July 08, 2005
http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=81989&src=0
Terrorist
Attacks on London
All
the world leaders who gathered at Gleneagles yesterday and today
condemned the barbaric attacks on London and offered our profound
condolences to the victims and their families. We came to Gleneagles
to work to combat poverty and save and improve lives. We have not
allowed violence to disrupt the work of this Summit. The terrorists
have not and will not succeed. As well as our work on poverty and
climate change, we resolved to intensify our work on counter terrorism.
Climate
Change
We
were joined for our discussion on climate change and the global
economy by the leaders of Brazil, China, India, Mexico, and South
Africa and by the heads of the International Energy Agency, International
Monetary Fund, United Nations, World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation.
We have issued
a statement setting out our common purpose in tackling climate change,
promoting clean energy and achieving sustainable development.
All of us agreed
that climate change is happening now, that human activity is contributing
to it, and that it could affect every part of the globe.
We know that,
globally, emissions must slow, peak and then decline, moving us
towards a low-carbon economy. This will require leadership from
the developed world.
We resolved
to take urgent action to meet the challenges we face. The Gleneagles
Plan of Action which we have agreed demonstrates our commitment.
We will take measures to develop markets for clean energy technologies,
to increase their availability in developing countries, and to help
vulnerable communities adapt to the impact of climate change.
We warmly welcomed
the involvement of the leaders of the emerging economy countries
in our discussions, and their ideas for new approaches to international
co-operation on clean energy technologies between the developed
and developing world.
Our discussions
mark the beginning of a new Dialogue between the G8 nations and
other countries with significant energy needs, consistent with the
aims and principles of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
This will explore how best to exchange technology, reduce emissions,
and meet our energy needs in a sustainable way, as we implement
and build on the Plan of Action.
We will advance
the global effort to tackle climate change at the UN Climate Change
Conference in Montreal later this year. Those of us who have ratified
the Kyoto Protocol remain committed to it, and will continue to
work to make it a success.
Africa
and Development
We
were joined for our discussion on Africa and development by the
leaders of Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa
and Tanzania and by the heads of the African Union Commission, International
Monetary Fund, United Nations and the World Bank.
We discussed
how to accelerate progress towards the Millennium Goals, especially
in Africa which has the furthest to go to achieve these goals by
2015.
We welcomed
the substantial progress Africa has made in recent years. More countries
have held democratic elections. Economic growth is accelerating.
Long running conflicts are being brought to an end.
We agreed that
we and our African partners had a common interest in building on
that progress to create a strong, peaceful and prosperous Africa;
we share a strong moral conviction that this should be done, and
have agreed the actions that we will take.
The African
leaders set out their personal commitment, reaffirmed strongly at
this week's African Union summit, to drive forward plans to reduce
poverty and promote economic growth; deepen transparency and good
governance; strengthen democratic institutions and processes; show
zero tolerance for corruption; remove all obstacles to intra-African
trade; and bring about lasting peace and security across the continent.
The G8 in return
agreed a comprehensive plan to support Africa's progress. This is
set out in our separate statement today. We agreed:
- to provide
extra resources for Africa's peacekeeping forces so that they
can better deter, prevent and resolve conflicts in Africa
- to give enhanced
support for greater democracy, effective governance and transparency,
and to help fight corruption and return stolen assets
- to boost
investment in health and education, and to take action to combat
HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB and other killer diseases
- to stimulate
growth, to improve the investment climate and to make trade work
for Africa, including by helping to build Africa's capacity to
trade and working to mobilise the extra investment in infrastructure
which is needed for business
The G8 leaders
agreed to back this plan with substantial extra resources for countries
which have strong national development plans and are committed to
good governance, democracy and transparency. We agreed that poor
countries must decide and lead their own development strategies
and economic policies.
We have agreed
to double aid for Africa by 2010. Aid for all developing countries
will increase, according to the OECD, by around $50bn per year by
2010, of which at least $25bn extra per year for Africa. A group
of G8 and other countries will also take forward innovative financing
mechanisms including the IFF for immunisation, an air-ticket solidarity
levy and the IFF to deliver and bring forward the financing, and
a working group will consider the implementation of these mechanisms.
We agreed that the World Bank should have a leading role in supporting
the partnership between the G8, other donors and Africa, helping
to ensure that additional assistance is effectively co-ordinated.
The G8 has also
agreed that all of the debts owed by eligible heavily indebted poor
countries to IDA, the International Monetary Fund and the African
Development Fund should be cancelled, as set out in our Finance
Ministers agreement on 11 June. We also welcomed the Paris Club
decision to write off around $17 billion of Nigeria's debt.
The G8 and African
leaders agreed that if implemented these measures and the others
set out in our comprehensive plan could:
- double the
size of Africa's economy and trade by 2015
- deliver increased
domestic and foreign investment
- lift tens
of millions of people out of poverty every year
- save millions
of lives a year
- get all children
into primary school
- deliver free
basic health care and primary education for all
- provide as
close as possible to universal access to treatment for AIDS by
2010
- generate
employment and other opportunities for young people
- bring about
an end to conflict in Africa.
In order to
ensure delivery, we agreed to strengthen the African Partners Forum
and that it should establish a Joint Action Plan.
But we know
this is only the beginning. We must build on the progress we have
made today. We must take this spirit forward to the UN Millennium
Review Summit in New York in September, and ensure a successful
conclusion to the Doha Development Agenda.
Global
Economy, Oil and Trade
We
discussed the outlook for global economic growth, which we expect
to remain robust. We recognised that maintaining this growth is
a challenge, and reaffirmed that each of our countries must play
its part to support long-term sustainable growth. Higher and more
volatile oil prices are an issue of particular concern both to us
and to vulnerable developing countries. We emphasise the need for
concrete actions to reduce market volatility through more comprehensive
transparent and timely data.
We agreed to
redouble our efforts to achieve a successful conclusion across the
whole of the Doha Development Agenda. We saw this as vital to drive
growth and boost incomes across the world, and a necessary element
of our work to reduce global poverty. We and our emerging economy
partners agreed to inject the necessary political momentum into
the discussion to ensure an outline agreement by the WTO Hong Kong
Ministerial in December, and a final agreement in 2006.
We reaffirmed
our commitment to open markets more widely to trade in agricultural
goods, industrial goods and services, and in agriculture to reduce
trade distorting domestic subsidies and eliminate all forms of export
subsidies by a credible end date. We also committed to address products
of interest to Least Developed Countries in the negotiations, and
to ensure Least Developed Countries have the flexibility to decide
their own economic strategies.
We issued statements
on the global economy and oil, trade, and on action to reduce Intellectual
Property Right piracy and counterfeiting.
Regional
Issues and Proliferation
We met
James Wolfensohn, the Quartet's Special Envoy for Disengagement,
who briefed on his work to help ensure a successful Israeli disengagement
from Gaza and parts of the West Bank, and his proposals for long-term
follow-up to that process, laying the foundations for the viability
of a future Palestinian state. We welcomed and strongly endorsed
his efforts, and will explore how best to support his proposals
for the future.
We reconfirmed
our commitment to the Partnership for Progress and a Common Future
with the Region of the Broader Middle East and North Africa, based
on genuine co-operation between the G8 and the governments, business
and civil society of the region. We welcomed steps taken in the
region to accelerate political, economic, social and educational
reform and stressed our support for the emerging momentum in the
region for change. We look forward to the Forum for the Future in
Bahrain in November 2005 as an opportunity to further advance the
work of the partnership.
Six months on
from the enormous tragedy of the Indian Ocean disaster on 26 December
2004, we have underlined our support for UN work on post-tsunami
humanitarian aid and reconstruction, as well as confirming our commitment
to reduce the risk from future disasters and to encourage reform
of the humanitarian system.
We reaffirmed
that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their
delivery systems, together with international terrorism, remain
the pre-eminent threats to international peace and security. We
reaffirmed our commitments and called on all States to uphold in
full international norms on non-proliferation and to meet their
arms control and disarmament obligations. We emphasised our determination
to meet proliferation challenges decisively, through both national
and multilateral efforts. We expressed particular concern about
the threat of proliferation in North Korea and Iran.
On Iran we support
the efforts of France, Germany and the UK, with the EU, to address
through negotiation the concerns about Iran's nuclear programme,
and expressed once again the importance of Iran combating terrorism,
supporting peace in the Middle East and respecting human rights
and fundamental freedoms.
On North Korea,
we support the Six Party Talks and urged North Korea to return promptly
to them. We call on North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons-related
programmes. Action is also long overdue for North Korea to respond
to the international community's concern over its human rights record
and the abductions issue.
We discussed
the situations in Sudan and in Iraq and issued separate statements
setting out our common approach. We also issued statements on the
Middle East Peace Process, the Broader Middle East and North Africa
Initiative, the Indian Ocean disaster, and counter-proliferation,
and a progress report on the Secure and Facilitated Travel Initiative
(SAFTI). In addition, we discussed:
Afghanistan,
where we reaffirmed our commitment to support the Government and
people of Afghanistan as they tackle their long term challenges
of reconstruction, security, counter-narcotics, and restoring the
rule of law, and welcomed the forthcoming Parliamentary and Provincial
elections
Lebanon, where
we welcomed the recent elections and looked forward to the early
formation of a new Lebanese Government made up of respected members
of society, who support reform, and are committed to protecting
the sovereignty of their country. We reiterated that UN Security
Council Resolution 1559 must be applied in its entirety
Zimbabwe, where
we deplored recent events. The forced demolition of buildings there
has left hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans without housing or
livelihoods, and caused great human suffering. We call on the Zimbabwean
authorities to end this campaign now, address immediately the situation
they have created, and respect human rights and the rule of law
We welcome the
visit of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy. We look forward
to her report on the situation. We will continue to support the
UN and other international organisations in their efforts to provide
food and humanitarian assistance to all those in need in Zimbabwe
Haiti, where
we expressed concern at the deteriorating security situation. We
underlined the need for sustained international engagement, including
through the active efforts of the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti,
in support of a secure and stable environment, essential for elections
later in 2005, and for the country's long-term development
UN Reform, where
we agreed that the progress made at Gleneagles should contribute
to a clear and ambitious outcome at the UN Millennium Review Summit
in September. We reiterate the importance we attach to significant
progress on development, security and human rights, and also on
UN administrative reform, at the Summit.
We welcomed
the offer of the President of the Russian Federation to host our
next Summit in 2006.
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