Which brings me to the message of hope and optimism that I intend to share today in respect of another pressing international challenge. That of ensuring that the benefits of globalization are truly global.

This June, it will be my privilege to host the G8 Leaders in Kananaskis, Alberta. Our focus will be reducing the marginalization of some nations from the process of globalization. A marginalization that is stated most bluntly in the fact that since 1960, the ratio of the income of the wealthiest 20 percent of nations to the poorest 20 percent has increased from 30 to 1 to 74 to 1.

"Poverty", Mahatma Gandhi once said, "is the worst form of violence." Nowhere is this more true than in Africa. The situation throughout much of the continent is bad, and getting worse.

Africa today is the only continent where poverty is on the rise. In 1965, real gross domestic product per capita in Chad was one fifteenth of the United States. In 1990, it was one fiftieth. In sub-Saharan Africa, almost half of the population lives on less than one dollar a day. With 10% of the world's population, Africa accounts for just one and a half percent of global trade. Life expectancy there is 47 years, and declining. About 16 years lower than the next lowest region in the world. Of the 40 million people infected with HIV/AIDS, more than two-thirds live in Sub-Saharan Africa. And nearly 70% of the new cases occur there. More than 140 million youths in Africa are illiterate. Africa is the only region where the numbers of children out of school is rising. One African in five is caught up in armed conflict.

By every index or measure, Africa now lives on the fringes of our globalized world. And is at risk of falling so far behind that it may never catch up. We can’t allow that to happen. All nations have a moral obligation and an economic interest in reversing these depressing statistics.

Working as partners with Africans in the realization of their hopes is an affirmation of our common humanity. But we should also be clear that it would be short sighted of us not to help them.

Thriving economies in Africa will create new foreign investment opportunities. And consumers with money in their pockets to buy goods and services that we want to sell. Indeed, a cohesive and prosperous Africa, an Africa with a brighter future, means a more prosperous and secure world. And a brighter future for Africa begins, not with lectures, but with leadership.

Progressive African leaders, many of them here today, have taken the initiative. They have embraced a new vision, embodied in a landmark document called the New Partnership for Africa’s Development. It is a vision founded on freedom and democracy. And the principle that the key to progress in Africa lies, first and foremost, with Africans.

They seek a new partnership. Not only among Africans, but also between Africa and the friends of Africa. One that is informed by the mistakes and persistent failures of the past. That seeks to shatter the perception, all too deeply rooted, that investing money in Africa doesn’t pay. Where enhanced assistance is directed to those governments committed to real reform and genuine ownership of their own national development.

At our last Summit in Genoa, G8 Leaders resolved to work with committed African leaders to help build and expand such a new partnership. Our Personal Representatives are now working on the development of a concrete Africa Action Plan for adoption at Kananaskis.

For many years, we have been an innovative international leader in development assistance. Through our Official Development Assistance program and our historic ties through La Francophonie and the Commonwealth, we have established relationships with over 40 African countries.

Our long experience has led us to embrace the principles of the New Partnership. Indeed two years ago in Okinawa, Japan, I told my G8 colleagues that developing countries must be full partners in their own development. Accordingly, the G8 Africa Action Plan will be designed to help African governments that are committed to working with, and on behalf of, all of their citizens. To build durable peace and security. To address the crises in health and education. To strengthen democratic governance. And to open trade and investment.

In addition to increasing our development assistance, our most recent budget set aside a special $500 million fund for Africa. It will support the objectives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development through implementation of the G8 Africa Action Plan.

But a brighter future for Africa is about much more than enhanced aid. We must also work with nations who are implementing the New Partnership by dealing with the choking debt loads that hinder the ability of governments to meet the needs of their citizens.

But aid and debt relief are also no panacea for Africa.

To sustain high levels of economic growth, Africa also needs more private sector investment and more trade. So we need to support the creation of the conditions that business needs in order to thrive. Like democracy, the rule of law, and transparent, predictable and enforced regulations. And we need to recognize that there will be little prospect of investment and trade if Africans are denied access to our markets.

On that score, let me assure you today that Canada will be open for business from Africa. I call on business leaders here today to join with committed Africans in a new partnership for development, growth and prosperity. I do not issue this challenge lightly. By any standard, reversing the decline of Africa will be a tall order.

Africans have known far too much of war, of dispossession, of tyranny, and of corruption. Many high hopes and noble ideals have been frustrated on African shores.

But I have been in public life for a long time. Almost 39 years. And I have come to believe deeply in the power of individuals, working in good faith, to shape a better future. And, above all, that there is no substitute for leadership. From great nations and small. Rich and poor.

The New Partnership for Africa’s Development presents a profound opportunity to turn a page in human history. Implementing its principles is not just the right thing to do. It is a good investment. An investment in our common future. In our collective security and common humanity. In the belief that the quality of life that globalization has brought to so many of us must be open to all of us. In the simple belief that, to have real meaning, prosperity must be accompanied by progress and hope for all.