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Wide range of issues to be discussed in G8 Summit

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-05 15:28

ROME: A wide range of issues will be discussed during the Group of Eight (G8)summit and outreach sessions to be held on July 8-10 in the central Italian city of L'Aquila, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said.

In a recent interview ahead of the summit, Frattini said that on top of the meetings' agenda are the global financial crisis, climate change, Africa and developing countries, food security and non-proliferation.

Frattini believed that a global rule is needed to deal with the global financial crisis.

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"Our idea is to have a principal agreement on unified financial standards at a global scale and to transform it to practical regulations," he said.

"We will have this summit in L'Aquila as an intermediate step between the G20 London Summit and G20 Pittsburgh summit due in September -- G8 will decide principles and G20 will translate principles into concrete regulations like reforming the World Bank or reforming the International Monetary Fund," the minister added.

On climate change, Frattini said he wished the major industrialized nations could reach consensus at the summit to pave the way for the Copenhagen negotiation for post-Kyoto Protocol agreement to be held in Denmark in December.

Africa and developing countries would be another main topic. "We want to transform Africa into a new opportunity in terms of natural resources, environment protection and new industry jobs. These are three main priorities that would be under discussion," Frattini said.

The foreign minister stressed the importance of China in Africa. "China attaches greatest importance to the African continent and plays a very important role. That is why we believe the Chinese role could be particularly important to help poor countries, in particular African countries," he said.

Frattini also touched on his country's strategy for aid to Africa. "Our strategies will be no reduction, better accountability, results-oriented policy in which human beings are centered."

Food security is a new field where G8 should take important initiatives, Frattini said.

"Our idea is to cooperate closely among all the G8 members plus the other five important economies including China to give a message to the outside world that quantity but also quality of food is paramount for the future of the world," he said.

There would be also very important discussions about non-proliferation during the summit, Frattini said.

"The international community has strong interest in preventing and stopping the nuclear proliferation of Iran," he said.

The minister also stressed that the developed countries would cooperate tightly with developing countries at the summit, which will include G8 members -- the United States, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Russia and this year's host Italy, and also will gather the emerging nations of China, India, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa, plus Egypt, the major Islamic and African nation.

However, Frattini also expressed his concern about the results of strategies and promises made by G8.

"Frequently, we make important strategies and then do not follow up the results," he said.

"While mapping out new strategies, we need to avoid forgetting the strategies that are already on the table and are not completely implemented," the minister said, adding that he will propose a G8 foreign ministers meeting in September to check whether promises made in the past have been fulfilled.

He also said that deciding to hold the meetings in L'Aquila, which was badly damaged by an earthquake in April that killed nearly 300 people and left 60,000 homeless, was to demonstrate Italy's effort to rebuild the city.