Day Two of the L’Aquila G8 Summit

l’Aquila: "The G8 is no longer the tool best fitted to presenting a world economic strategy” for addressing and settling the global governance issues, so "we have created in the G14 a consolidated forum representing over 80% of the world economy, and it has encountered a universal will to keep it going.” Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has reviewed the Summits proceedings on day two of the LAquila G8 and stressed that the format for the days meetings constituted "the ideal structure for true debate.” The G8 and G5 countries plus Egypt had, for the first time, issued a joint statement.

The salient points in the statement include imparting fresh thrust to the Doha Round, which Mr. Berlusconi described as "a success scored by this Summit.” Trade liberalisation, he emphasised, was "a crucial means for extricating ourselves from the crisis.” The meeting was held in the afternoon was also attended by the WTO (World Trade Organization) director, whom the leaders tasked with convening the ministers concerned in September to draw up a paper ahead of the Pittsburgh G20.

He also voiced optimism over the results achieved on the climate issue during the days MEF (Major Economies Forum) sessions, which had been devoted to the measures to be adopted to counter global warming. The emerging economies approach had been "very positive,” Mr. Berlusconi emphasised, "and this enables us to look forward to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen with optimism.”

Prime Minister Berlusconi dwelt on the nuclear proliferation issue at the press conference, a topic that had been addressed at the working dinner on day one of the Summit as well, with a particular eye to Iran. After rejecting the notion of sanctions, the G8 leaders had voiced the intention of "opening forceful, tough, determined dialogue with a view to arriving at a solution ruling out the possibility of Iran becoming a country with a nuclear weapon.” US President Obama had proposed a summit on nuclear security to be held in March 2010 with all the countries that possessed atomic weapons, Mr. Berlusconi added.

The international issues addressed yesterday evening had included the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Middle East, with a concrete proposal for a Marshall Plan for the Palestinian Territories that would make it possible to shore up their economy.