MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

G8 Foreign ministers summit in London takes off wish ambitious agenda

A long list of issues is to be addressed at the meeting in London said Hague

The United Kingdom is hosting G8 Foreign ministers in London for a two-day meeting beginning Wednesday, when they will discuss the situation in the Middle East, including Syria and Iran; security and stability across North and West Africa; Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and climate change.

Foreign Secretary William Hague will be joined on the occasion by peers from the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, France, Germany and Italy. G8 represents a group of like-minded nations with a broad range of global interests and responsibilities.

Hague in anticipation of the meeting said that the G8 besides the agenda will highlight five key policy priorities: Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative (PSVI); Somalia; Cyber; Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition and Burma.

“The UK will seek a clear statement of intent and concrete commitments to begin to address the culture of impunity for those who use rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war. This will include support for a new international protocol on the investigation and documentation of sexual violence in conflict and practical assistance in countries affected by this problem”, said the Foreign Secretary.

On Somalia Hague said “our presidency of the G8 will focus on encouraging the re-engagement of international financial institutions (World Bank, African Development Bank, and International Monetary Fund)”, which should fit neatly with the broader set of objectives for the international conference on Somalia in London in May, which will be co-chaired with the Somali Government.

The G8 meeting will address ways in which to build greater trust and security in cyberspace, to support the growth potential of the global digital economy.

Hague said that G8 “can show leadership on international capacity-building efforts, following up the UK initiative announced at the Budapest Cyber conference last October”

The meeting in London will also discuss the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition, which represents the G8 and regional partners’ support to countries undergoing transition following the Arab Spring. And finally on Burma, G8 will support promotion of responsible international investment.