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| Sunday, 10 July 2005 |
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Promises to be pursued for results Scotland, July 9 (AFP) Some might grumble, but the Gleneagles summit of the world's most powerful leaders produced more than most if not all previous G8 conclaves, political analysts say. What remains to be seen, they add, is whether the eight top industrialised nations will hold true to their pledges - however minimal some may see them - on combating climate change and extreme poverty in Africa. Much will hinge on the way that Russian President Vladimir Putin sets the agenda for the next Group of Eight gathering that he will host next year in Saint Petersburg. He has already staked out energy as a priority. Key as well will be a string of critical dates already pencilled into the global diplomatic calendar. The three-day summit at this posh Scottish golfing resort wrapped up Friday much the way its host Prime Minister Tony Blair wanted it to, despite the shock of the bomb attacks the day before in London that killed more than 50 people. "We speak today in the shadow of terrorism, but it will not obscure what we came here to achieve," said Blair, flanked by his fellow leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. Significantly, each of the leaders signed, with a silver pen that glistened in the summer sun, a pledge to do more - but not as much as many wished - to help Africa through aid, trade and debt relief. Publicly putting their names to promises is not G8 custom. On climate change, the G8 reached beyond their bitter differences over the Kyoto Protocol, agreeing to open a dialogue with up-and-coming powers like China and India on curbing, then reducing greenhouse gas emissions. "It's probably one of the best G8 meetings in ages," said Paola Subacchi of the Chatham House foreign policy institute in London as the leaders - and their invited colleagues from Asia, Africa and Latin America - headed home. Blair, backed by his powerful finance minister Gordon Brown, invested huge political capital in getting the G8 to agree to debt cancellation for 18 poor countries and a doubling of development aid for Africa by 2010. |
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