The Development of G8 Africa from 2002 to 2008
2002: Summit in Canada
2003: Summit in France
2004: Summit in the United States
2005: Summit in the United Kingdom
2006: Summit in Russia
2007: Summit in Germany
2008: Summit in Japan
A new partnership between Africa and the G8 countries got under way with the Genoa Declaration in 2001, with the aim of backing Africa's effort to address crucial issues for the continent's development. The impulse provided by the Italian presidency to building a strong and lasting link with the African continent was picked up and developed at every G8 Summit thereafter.
2002: Summit in Canada
The Summit in Kananaskis approved the G8 Africa Action Plan with a commitment to assessing the progress achieved in the implementation of the pledges made the previous year. In particular, the G8's final declarations entrusted the plan with a mission to offer support to those African countries engaged in seeking to reduce poverty, to promote good governance and to adopt economic reforms, in the event they lacked the funds to allow them to successfully achieve the Millennium Goals.
2003: Summit in France
The Evian Summit adopted the First Progress Report on developments in the pledges made by the G8 enshrined in the Action Plan. This report is drafted on a two-yearly basis by the Africa personal representatives.
Also, the Africa Partnership Forum (APF) was set up to extend the dialogue between the G8 and NEPAD by including the main partners in development. Its mission is to boost the efforts made by the Partnership in favor of Africa's development. At this juncture, the Forum has become a front-line venue at which the problems encountered, the strategies being implemented and the priorities identified in support of the continent's development are examined and followed up at the highest level. Its members - Africa, the G8 countries, the OECD and the other partners - work on an equal footing, also forging synergies and ensuring consistency with the other international forums. It meets twice a year (in spring and autumn) and it is alternately co-chaired both by African Union and NEPAD representatives, and by OECD and G8 member countries.
Also approved were the Action Plan to strengthen Africa's ability to conduct peace support operations, and the Action Plan in cooperation with the African Development Bank (AfDB) initiative.
2004: Summit in the United States
At the Sea Island Summit the G8 Heads of State and Government leaders decided to launch the Action Plan on Expanding Global Capacity for Peace Support Operations and to adopt the Action Plan on Applying the Power of Entrepreneurship to Eradicate Poverty. The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise was set up to accelerate the development of a vaccine against HIV/AIDS and a pledge was announced to do everything possible to eliminate poliomyelitis by 2015, to launch a new initiative designed to boost agricultural output, to promote rural development, and to foster transparency and combat corruption.
2005: Summit in the United Kingdom
The British G8 presidency in 2005 was keen for the summit in Gleneagles, held exactly 10 years before the Millennium Goals' achievement date set for 2015, to succeed in impressing a change of course on the search for solutions to the problems afflicting the African continent. The main initiatives adopted for the purpose were: the submission of the Second Report on the implementation of the G8 Action Plan and the Africa Commission's First Report, the cancellation of the multilateral debt and the implementation of the 2002 pledges made in Monterrey, Mexico, to double Public Development Aid (PDA), and the establishment of an International Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA).
2006: Summit in Russia
At the St. Petersburg Summit the ongoing crisis in the Middle East effectively overshadowed the issue of development in the southern hemisphere, resulting in a clear absence of any commitment to Africa. The G8 countries reiterated: the need to extend education throughout the world, particularly in the southern hemisphere; the need for a concrete effort to eradicate contagious diseases, starting with HIV/AIDS; their hope to see investment in energy sources that allow sustainable development; and the need for their negotiators to reach agreement in the space of a month in the Doha Round negotiations, which had been effectively paralyzing the World Trade Organization (WTO) for over four years.
2007: Summit in Germany
Africa was one of the main issues addressed at the summit in Heiligendamm. Talks focused on the G8's contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Goals for African development, particularly in the fields of peace and security, sustainable investment, good governance, improving health systems, and the struggle against HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Dialogue was also inaugurated with the principal emerging economies - namely Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa - in a process known as the Heiligendamm Dialogue Process (HDP), which is designed to deepen mutual acquaintance among the participating countries and to enable them to share thoughts and, ideally, actions in certain crucial areas.
2008: Summit in Japan
Japan decided to devote a prime slot in its G8 agenda to Africa. The Japanese Presidency was especially eager to promote the international community's efforts to ensure achievement of the Millennium Goals, particularly in relation to water, to education and to health. The IVth Implementation Report on the G8 Africa Action Plan was also adopted.
