28th G8 summit

The 28th G8 Summit was held in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 26–27, 2002.

28th G8 Summit
28th G8 Summit Logo
Host countryCanada
DatesJune 26–27, 2002
Venue(s)Kananaskis Resort
CitiesKananaskis, Alberta
Follows27th G8 summit
Precedes29th G8 summit

Overview

The Group of Seven (G7) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada starting in 1976. The G8, meeting for the first time in 1997, was formed with the addition of Russia.[1] In addition, the President of the European Commission has been formally included in summits since 1981.[2] The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions; and in fact, a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France's President Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's Chancellor Helmut Schmidt as they conceived the initial summit of the Group of Six (G6) in 1975.[3]

The G8 summits during the 21st-century have inspired widespread debates, protests and demonstrations; and the two- or three-day event becomes more than the sum of its parts, elevating the participants, the issues and the venue as focal points for activist pressure.[4]

Accomplishments

The 2002 conference is said to have cost $300-million[5] with potential benefits for the Kananaskis economy.[6]

In response to and support of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the Kananaskis Summit produced an African Action Plan, which contained commitments on promoting peace and security; strengthening institutions and governance; fostering trade, economic growth and sustainable development; implementing debt relief; expanding knowledge; improving health and confronting HIV/AIDS; increasing agricultural productivity; and, improving water resource management.[7]

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien proposed and carried the Market Access Initiative, so that the then 48 Least developed countries (LDCs) could profit from "trade-not-aid".[8] This was part of a multi-year initiative by the Technical Cooperation Division at the Secretariat of the WTO, spearheaded by Dr. Chiedu Osakwe, the WTO Special Coordinator for the LDCs beginning in 1999.[9] Concurrently, the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) resulted in the phasing out of apparel quotas under the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) in 2005.[10] Developing country quotas were subsequently removed on 1 January 2005, and tariff reduction was to continue until 2010.[10]

Furthermore, the G8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction was adopted at the summit; with members committing US$20 billion towards the security of some weapons of mass destruction in former soviet republics.[11][12]

In the summit's final communique, one of the unexpected highlights was an announcement that Russia would become a true full member of the G8. This would be accomplished by allowing it to host its first G8 Summit, starting in 2006. Thus, the rotation of the G8 Presidency was changed, placing Russia between the United Kingdom and Germany.

Leaders at the summit

The G8 is an unofficial annual forum for the leaders of Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.[2]

Participants

These participants were the "core members" of the international forum during the 28th summit:[13][14][15][2]

Core G8 members
Host state and leader are shown in bold text.
Member Represented by Title
Canada Jean Chrétien Prime Minister
France Jacques Chirac President
Germany Gerhard Schröder Chancellor
Italy Silvio Berlusconi Prime Minister
Japan Junichiro Koizumi Prime Minister
Russia Vladimir Putin President
United Kingdom Tony Blair Prime Minister
United States George W. Bush President
European Union Romano Prodi Commission President
José Maria Aznar Council President
Guest Invitees (Countries)
Member Represented by Title
Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika President
Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo President
Senegal Abdoulaye Wade President
South Africa Thabo Mbeki President
Guest Invitees (International Institutions)
Member Represented by Title
United Nations Kofi Annan Secretary-General

Priorities

Traditionally, a host country of the G8 summit sets the agenda for negotiations, which take place primarily amongst multi-national civil servants in the weeks before the summit itself, leading to a joint declaration which all countries can agree to sign. The Presidency of the G8 is held by the leader of a current national government, whether it is a president, prime minister or chancellor (with Germany) of that particular G8 country. It lasts from January 1 to December 31 of such year.

Issues

The summit was intended as a venue for resolving differences among its members. As a practical matter, the summit was also conceived as an opportunity for its members to give each other mutual encouragement in the face of difficult economic decisions.[3]

Citizens' responses and authorities' counter-responses

The previous summit, the 27th G8 summit, in Genoa, Italy was the site of large anti-globalization protests and occasionally violent conflict between protesters and the police. In contrast to Genoa, most of the area near was closed to the public during the summit, and protesters were kept far away, mainly in Calgary. The protests were peaceful, attended by groups including the Raging Grannies.

Kananaskis was selected because of its isolated location. Security was augmented by CF-188 jet fighters, air-to-air refuelling aircraft and helicopters which patrolled the skies non-stop; all major thoroughfares were closed, many of the shops in nearby Calgary were boarded up, and police reportedly outnumbered protesters six to one. It was the largest peacetime security operation in Canadian history.[5]

Security was very tight at the summit, costing taxpayers in excess of $200 million.[6] It attracted thousands of protesters and security was provided by 5,000 to 7,000 police and military officers.[16] This was the first G-8 summit held after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Business opportunity

For some, the G8 summit became a profit-generating event; as for example, the official G8 Summit magazines which have been published under the auspices of the host nations for distribution to all attendees since 1998.[17]

Core G8 participants

Notes
  1. Saunders, Doug. "Weight of the world too heavy for G8 shoulders," Archived 2009-04-29 at WebCite Globe and Mail (Toronto). July 5, 2008.
  2. Reuters: "Factbox: The Group of Eight: what is it?", July 3, 2008.
  3. Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations, p. 205.
  4. "Influencing Policy on International Development: G8," Archived 2012-05-13 at the Wayback Machine BOND (British Overseas NGOs for Development). 2008.
  5. Wahl, Harry. " Cost of security for the G8 Summit," Huntsville Forrester. July 2, 2008.
  6. Andreatta, David. "Brace yourself, Huntsville. The G8 is coming," Globe and Mail (Toronto). July 12, 2008.
  7. Iwuagwu, Obi. "Africa and the G8 Summits," Business Day (Lagos, Nigeria). July 17, 2008.
  8. NOW Toronto: "Roots runs away: Beaver-clad clothier blames feds' Africa trade aid for west-end plant closure" (February 12–19, 2004, VOL 23 NO 24 Vasil) Archived 2014-07-14 at the Wayback Machine
  9. World Trade Organization, "Moore announces key appointments for development issues", 1999 Press Releases, Press/136, 13 September 1999
  10. "Government Programs and the Garment Industry" ch 2 by A. Pettman in The Winnipeg Garment Industry: Industry Development and Employment, Wiest, Ed. November 2005
  11. The New York Times (2008) RUSSIA/US: Global partnership Retrieved 1 October 2012
  12. Nuclear Threat Initiative. Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction ("10 Plus 10 Over 10 Program") Archived 2016-02-12 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 October 2012
  13. Rieffel, Lex. "Regional Voices in Global Governance: Looking to 2010 (Part IV)," Archived June 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Brookings. March 27, 2009; "core" members (Muskoka 2010 G-8, official site). Archived June 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  14. 2001 Kananaskis G-8, delegations.
  15. 2001 Kananaskis G-8, delegations; "EU and the G8" Archived February 26, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  16. "Ontario resort picked for G8 summit in 2010," Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine Gazette (Montreal). June 20, 2008.
  17. Prestige Media: Archived 2009-05-19 at the Wayback Machine "official" G8 Summit magazine Archived 2009-05-18 at the Wayback Machine

References
  • Bayne, Nicholas and Robert D. Putnam. (2005). Staying together: the G8 summit confronts the 21st century. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-4267-1; OCLC 217979297
  • Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-16486-3; ISBN 978-0-203-45085-7; OCLC 39013643
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