Werder-Havel, Germany – The Group of Eight called Saturday for more aid, increased debt relief and responsible lending to Africa, vowing that the world’s wealthy nations would not forget their pledges to the poverty- stricken continent.
Wrapping up two days of talks by finance officials under tight security at a resort on Lake Schwielowsee, officials from Germany, Italy, Britain, Japan, Canada, Russia, the United States and France called for improved financial oversight and said Africa would be a central point of next month’s wider G8 summit in Heiligendamm.
“We reaffirm our commitment to meeting our responsibilities as donors, in particular the importance of delivering on our aid commitments,” the group said in its statement.
With improved financial management by African nations and increased investment, there was a need for “special attention to particular needs of post conflict and fragile states,” it added.
Attendees included Gordon Brown, Britain’s next prime minister, and U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Robert Kimmitt, who came instead of his boss, Henry Paulson.
Advocates for Africa said the summit did not focus enough on ensuring the continent receive funding pledged to it, and they urged a more thorough accounting next month when the leaders of the G8 meet on the Baltic Sea coast.
Critics said pledges of $67 billion a year in aid from a G8 summit two years ago fell short.
