World leaders turned their attention yesterday to the sick global economy, with the Middle East, plans for rebuilding Iraq and combatting terrorism sharing top billing on their agenda.
The G8 annual economic summit -- composed of the world's seven wealthiest nations and Russia -- returned to its more traditional format with the leaders sitting down for talks among themselves.
The opening day Sunday had been devoted to discussions among a much larger group of 11 of the world's major developing countries including China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Malaysia joining a number of African nations. African countries won a major victory with commitments from the US and Europe to greatly increasing the money they will provide to fight AIDS in poor countries.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Many had feared that the Evian summit, being held at a posh resort with magnificent views of Lake Geneva and the Alps, could witness a continuation of the bitter recriminations over the Iraq war which US President George W. Bush pursued despite the vocal objections from France, Germany, Russia and Canada.
Instead, the leaders went out of their way to project harmony and reconciliation at these meetings, worried that serious disunity among the world's richest countries would be bad for global markets.
"Good, real good. Had a great meeting," was Bush's upbeat assessment at the opening of the second day of the summit, a meeting that he was leaving a day early so he could engage in an intense round of shuttle diplomacy with leaders of Arab countries and Israel on efforts to advance Middle East peace talks.
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien told reporters that "people are smiling, Schroeder is happy."
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was the last leader to arrive, missing most of the first day to stay in Berlin and win passage at an emergency party conference of a far-reaching economic reform package that he hopes will revive Germany's sagging economy.
That package and efforts the other nations were making to deal with a weak global economy were the discussion topics for the morning session before leaders turned their attention at lunch to a wide-ranging review of political crises from the halting progress in stabilizing and rebuilding Iraq to Bush's efforts to push the Middle East peace talks forward and continuing threats from global terrorism.
Bush and French President Jacques Chirac, who had feuded over the US-led war, went out of their way during Sunday's sessions to put the rancor behind them, according to participants in the sessions.
"We can have disagreements but that doesn't mean we have to be disagreeable to each other," Bush said.
Also yesterday, G8 nations were set to agree a strong statement on the threat of weapons of mass destruction, naming Iran and North Korea as of specific concern, a UK government official said.
The official said the statement agreed by the heads of government would recognize the risk of such weapons falling into the hands of militant groups as the "pre-eminent threat" to international security.
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