July 24, 2001

The Prime Minister attended a very positive and fruitful meeting of the G8 last weekend, where the defining element was the leaders’ determination to make globalization work for all citizens, and especially the world’s poor.

We can take great pride in the strong leadership Canada showed at this Summit – leadership that helped pave the way for a strategic approach to poverty reduction. This approach includes:

• Maintaining a strong, dynamic, open and growing global economy, which is the most effective poverty reduction strategy.
• Committing $1.3 billion US to the Global AIDS and Health Fund, which will help break the vicious cycle between disease and poverty. So far, Canada has committed $150 million to this initiative.
• Creating, under Canada’s leadership, a new G8 working group on Africa, which will work with African countries to help them overcome their struggle with poverty, lack of education and poor health. The group will work with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to better target relief money.

• Working to implement the Genoa Plan of Action of the Digital Opportunity Task Force – a plan that will help bridge the digital divide and bring accelerated growth, better standards of living and improved government services for developing countries. Over the next year, Canada will lead the G8's efforts towards the implementation of the Plan of Action.

• Providing debt relief to the poorest countries, particularly to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries. So far, 23 countries have qualified for an overall amount of debt relief of over $53 billion.
• Helping developing countries promote open, democratic and accountable systems of governance.
• Encouraging greater participation by developing countries in the global trading system by launching an ambitious new round of global trade negotiations with a balanced agenda. In particular, the G8 has committed to working towards duty-free and quota-free access for all products originating in the least developed countries, and to give them the technical assistance they need to reap the full benefits of open trade.
• Continuing to work with developing countries towards the goal of universal primary education by 2015.