Chinese President Hu Jintao (1st L
Front) poses for a group photo with leaders attending the outreach session
of the Group of Eight summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, June 8, 2007.
(Xinhua Photo/Ju Peng) Photo
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HEILIGENDAMM, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Leaders from the Group of
Eight (G8) leading industrialized powers concluded their annual summit here on
Friday with a pledge to deliver aid promises to Africa and concerns over
regional security.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that
aid promises made by the G8 nations to Africa will be delivered.
"We are aware of our responsibilities and our
obligations will be fulfilled," Merkel said during a meeting with African
leaders at an outreach session of the G8 summit in the northern German Baltic
resort.
The G8 leaders agreed on an aid package of 60 billion
U.S. dollars to fight AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and other killer diseases in
Africa.
About 30 billion dollars from the aid package have
been pledged by the United States, and Germany has also announced an offer of
4billion euros (5.5 billion dollars) to fight diseases in Africa.
International activists, however, said they were
disappointed by the inaction of the developed countries.
Meanwhile, the G8 leaders urged Iran to suspend all
enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, and to fully cooperate with the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In a statement issued here at the conclusion of the
three-day summit, the G8 said it is still committed to resolving the Iranian
nuclear issue by diplomatic means.
The G8 Leaders also voiced their support for the
six-party talks through which the international community is making efforts to
solve the nuclear issue on the Korea Peninsula
The leaders urged the Sudanese government to accept
an international peace mission designed to solve the humanitarian crisis in the
Darfur region. They underlined that "there is no military solution" to the
conflict in Darfur.
The leaders also called for a prompt conclusion of
the deadlocked Doha Round trade talks.
We "call on all WTO members to demonstrate
constructive flexibility to bring these negotiations to a prompt successful
conclusion," the G8 leaders said in a statement.
On Thursday, the G8 leaders sealed a compromise on
climate change which Merkel described as a "real turning point."
Merkel told reporters that the leaders have agreed to
"substantially" cut greenhouse gases in the fight against climate change, which
is a "great success."
Still, environmental organization Green peace said it
was disappointed by the G8 agreement.
"This is too little," said Green peace, noting that
the G8 leaders have finally failed to agree on binding targets.
Germany, which holds the rotating G8 presidency, has
called for actions to limit the rise in global temperatures to two degrees
Celsius this century, which experts say requires a global reduction in emissions
of 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
However, the United States, the world's biggest
greenhouse gas producer, had voiced "fundamental opposition" to mandatory
targets, making climate change one of the most controversial issues during the
upcoming G8 summit.
Chinese President Hu Jintao on Friday highlighted the
principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities" in tackling climate
change.
"We should adhere to the principle of common but
differentiated responsibilities established in the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change," he told the outreach session between the G8 nations and five
major developing countries.
This principle, which recognizes differences among
countries in the level of economic development, historical responsibility and
current per capita emissions, forms the basis for maintaining and promoting
future international cooperation, said Hu.
"Climate change is an environmental issue, but it is,
in essence, a development issue," he said, adding that it occurred in the course
of development and should be resolved in the context of sustainable development.
On another contentious issue concerning the U.S. plan
of a missile defense system in Central Europe, Russian President Vladimir Putin
made a surprise offer to his U.S. counterpart George W. Bush.
Putin told Bush that Moscow would not oppose a U.S.
plan of a radar-based missile defense system in Europe if it was deployed in
Azerbaijan instead of Central Europe.
According to U.S. National Security Adviser Steve
Hadley, defense experts from the two sides will discuss the possibility of
Putin's initiative.
Putin said he was satisfied with talks with Bush and
explained that an Azerbaijan-based U.S. missile defense shield would alleviate
Russia's concerns about it, which would cover all of Europe rather part of it.
Reports said that the two leaders also agreed to a
strategic dialogue involving military and diplomacy.
The meeting between the two on the sidelines of the
Group of Eight (G8) summit was aimed to reduce high tension between the two
sides over the U.S. plan of deploying the missile defense shield in the Czech
Republic and Poland.
Meanwhile, G8 leaders called for more efforts to
adjust global imbalances in the world economy, although they appeared upbeat
about the world economy.
They also pledged to intensify anti-corruption
efforts, both at the national and international levels, terming the fight
against corruption as "one of the most important tasks of the G8."
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