Leaders from the Group of Eight (G8) promised on Friday to increase aid to developing countries by around US$50 billion  per year by 2010 when their three-day annual summit concluded in Gleneagles, central Scotland.

Among the assistance package, at least US$25 billion extra per year would be given to Africa, said a statement released after the summit.

Alleviating poverty from Africa, along with climate change, was put on the agenda of the summit by British Prime Minister Tony Blair who presides the G8 group this year.

At a closing news conference of the meeting, Blair said, "I believe we have made very substantial progress indeed."

"We do not, simply by this communique, make poverty history. But we do show it can be done and we do signify the political will to do it," he added.

The G8 leaders also endorsed a plan which is to cancel all of the debts owed to international institutions by 18 eligible heavily indebted poor countries.

In the statement, the leaders set out a comprehensive plan to support Africa's progress. They agreed to provide extra resources for Africa's peacekeeping forces and boost investment in health and education.

They also committed to stimulate growth and make trade work for Africa.

Earlier on Friday, the G8 leaders held a dialogue with leaders from Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.
 
British PM Tony Blair reading a statement at the conclusion of the G8 summit receives applause from other G8 leaders July 8. (AFP)

They agreed to strengthen the African Partners Forum and establish a Joint Action Plan to ensure these measures to be implemented.

British Rock star and anti-poverty organizer Bob Geldof hailed the agreement.

"Never before have so many people forced a change of policy onto a global agenda. If anyone had said eight weeks ago will we get a doubling of aid, will we get a deal on debt, people would have said 'no'," he told the press after the summit.

However, some non-government organizations criticized that the summit had failed to delivery justice for Africa, claiming the deal announced will not tackle poverty effectively.

On climate change, another top issue discussed in the summit, G8 leaders seemed to hold back although they showed generosity to Africa.

They issued a communique on climate change after the summit.

"Climate change is a serious and long-term challenge that has the potential to affect every part of the globe," the leaders acknowledged in the text.

They also admitted that increased need and use of energy from fossil fuel, and other human activities, contribute in large part to global warming.

They reached consensus to take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emission and take efforts to improve energy efficiency, invest in cleaner energy technology and cooperate with emerging economies.

China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa, which attended the summit on Thursday, issued a joint statement endorsing the Kyoto Protocol and urging developed countries such as the United States to "take the lead in international action to combat climate change by fully implementing their obligations of reducing emissions."

Environmentalists blamed Blair for his failure to get the United States to consider adopting the Kyoto Protocol.

But at the summing press conference, Blair said "We are not going to negotiate certain targets."

The meeting has been shadowed from the beginning by a series of blasts happening in London on Thursday morning, which killed more than 50 and wounded at least 700.

Leaders of other seven nations stood side by side with Blair against terrorism.

In another declaration, the leaders said, "We will respond resolutely, together and severally, to this global challenge and work to bring terrorists to justice wherever they are."

The statement said the G8 nations will work to improve the sharing of the information on the movement of terrorists across international borders, to assess and address the threat to the transportation infrastructure, and to promote practices for rail and metro security.

The G8 countries also agreed on Thursday evening on a substantial package of help to the Palestinians which amounted to 3 billion dollars in the years to come, Blair said at the press conference.

With that he said he was confident to see that Israel and Palestine will commit themselves side by side in peace.

G8 is a group of most industrialized countries made up by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

(Xinhua News Agency July 9, 2005)