G8 to double aid to Africa by 2010

GLENEAGLES - World leaders have agreed to more than double aid for Africa to $US50 billion ($NZ75 billion), presenting the deal as a message of hope that countered the hatred behind the London bomb attacks.


The announcement was the culmination of a Group of Eight summit of rich nations hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who had been determined to focus on African poverty despite Thursday's attacks, which killed more than 50 people.


"We speak today in the shadow of terrorism but it will not obscure what we came here to achieve," Blair declared, flanked by fellow leaders of the G8 and seven of their African counterparts on the steps of the Gleneagles hotel in Scotland.


"It isn't the end of poverty in Africa - but it is the hope that it can be ended," he said.


The deal was broadly welcomed by African leaders and some high-profile activists including singer Bob Geldof, who organised the massive Live 8 rock concerts around the world to pressure the G8. They said it could save countless lives.


"I see there are encouraging signs that the continent's problems are going to be addressed realistically and acceptably by the G8 and Prime Minister Tony Blair," said Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the chairman of the African Union.


But others said the deal fell far short of the hopes of millions inspired by the global Make Poverty History campaign and the concerts.


CHIRAC DEFENDS CLIMATE DEAL


The G8 leaders also agreed to start talks on global warming with major emerging economies such as India and China, whose rapid development is propelling them into the front rank of fossil fuel users.


Environmentalists said the declaration was a missed opportunity to take concrete action on climate change.


But French President Jacques Chirac agreed with Blair that the deal was a step forward as it brought the United States, which refuses to sign up to cuts in heat-trapping greenhouse gases backed by other G8 nations, back into the quest for an international consensus.


"The deal we reached does not go as far as we would have wished but it re-establishes indispensable dialogue and cooperation," he said.


On the world economy, the leaders called for more investment in refining as well as greater access for foreign investors to oil-rich states to tackle record high oil prices.


They pledged to end farm export subsidies - a major demand of African nations who complain that rich countries are forcing their farmers out of business. But they did not set a date.


They also called for renewed efforts to conclude a new phase of world trade liberalisation by the end of next year.


On the foreign policy front, they agreed a package of aid worth up to $3 billion to help the Palestinian Authority and foster peace in the Middle East.


ACTIVISTS DIVIDED ON AFRICA


The main focus on the summit was Africa, where campaigners say a child dies due to poverty every 10 seconds. Blair has called the state of the continent a "scar on the conscience of the world".


The G8 said annual development aid to Africa would increase by $25 billion by 2010, more than doubling the 2004 level.


They also said overall annual development aid - currently around $50 billion - would increase by $50 billion by 2010.


"A great justice has been done," Geldof said at a news conference with fellow campaigner Bono, the U2 lead singer.


"The world spoke out and the politicians listened," Bono said. "Now, if the world keeps an eye out, they will keep their promises."


But other campaigners said the money was needed now if the world was meet its goal of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. They also accused the G8 of only pretending to want to give farmers from poor countries more access to their markets.


"More aid is a good thing, but it is still too little too late, and much of it is not new money," said Amanda Sserumaga, Uganda country director for the charity ActionAid.


Not all development specialists are convinced that a massive aid boost is the answer to Africa's problems. Some question whether African states can absorb such a large increase in a short time.


Russia, the G8 odd man out because of its comparatively low living standards and Western criticism of its democratic record, takes over the presidency of the group for the first time from next January and will host the annual summit in St Petersburg.


President Vladimir Putin said Russia's key themes would be energy and education. He struck a conciliatory note over the prospect of anti-globalisation protesters.


"The problems that they raise deserve attention and discussions. I do not rule out working with anti-globalisation activists," he said.


- REUTERS