The G8 Development Ministers’ Meeting 2008 (Chair’s Summary)
Embassy of Japan
April 8, 2008
- G8 Ministers and senior officials responsible for development cooperation met in Tokyo on 5 and 6 April 2008, together with representatives from Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Republic of Korea, South Africa, and from the ASEAN Secretariat, the AU Commission, the OECD, the UNDP, the UNESCO, the UNICEF, the WHO and the World Bank. The meeting was held with a view to giving political input and support to the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, the U.N. high-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Follow-up Conference on Financing for Development n Doha. Chairs’ Summary of the meeting includes a wide range of issues, such as; 1) Towards a Vibrant Africa, 2) Expanding Partnership for Development, 3) Climate Change and Development, 4) Human Security and the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The following is an excerpt of the summary.
[Towards a Vibrant Africa]
We wholeheartedly welcome recent positive trends in Africa on both political and economic fronts. Respecting ownership of Africa for its own development, we are fully committed to supporting African efforts for boosting economic growth through regional integration, developing infrastructure, improving trade and investment environment and increasing agricultural productivity. We also underlined the need to strengthen our partnership with the private sector to accelerate economic growth especially in Africa. We also emphasized the importance of peace and security and good governance as a precondition of development and particularly renewed our support for peace consolidation efforts in Africa. We look forward to the success of the 4th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) to be held in Yokohama from 28 to 30 May 2008. The Conference presents an opportunity for African partners to engage with the donor community. This, together with the engagement of African leaders at the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, will allow us to further mobilize international support for African development.
[Climate Change and Development]
We shared the view that it is important to address difficulties caused by climate change which undermine the welfare of the global community. Climate change and development are inextricably linked and have to be dealt with in an integrated manner. In particular, it is urgently necessary to assist developing countries, which are most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change, in their adaptation efforts. We also commended and expressed our strong support to constructive national efforts taken by some developing countries in addressing climate change. We welcomed various initiatives by G8 countries to assist developing countries' efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, such as the Environmental Transformation Fund announced by the U.K., the Cool Earth Partnership by Japan, and the Climate Investment Funds proposed by the U.S., U.K. and Japan in cooperation with the World Bank. We believe the implementation of these initiatives will contribute to promoting progress in international cooperation towards a flexible, diverse and effective post-2012 framework, in line with the Bali Action Plan under the United Nations framework. In this regard, we recognize the need to seek complementarity of funding as well as coordination of donors on the ground.
The entire Chair summary is available at:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/summit/2008/other/g8_develop_s.html
[Related links]
*African Development (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan’s website)
http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/economy/summit/2008/other/g8_develop_s.html
*G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan’s website)
http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/middle_e/israel/index.html
*African Development: TICAD Process (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan’s website)
http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/africa/ticad/index.html
*Millennium Development Goals (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan’s website)
http://www.mofa.go.jp/policy/oda/mdg/
|
