April 2008: G8 Ministers and senior officials responsible for development cooperation met from 5-6 April 2008, in Tokyo, Japan, along with representatives from Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Republic of Korea, South Africa, the ASEAN Secretariat, the AU Commission, the OECD, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank. The meeting was held with a view to provide political input and support to the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV), the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana, the UN high-level meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and the Follow-up Conference on Financing for Development in Doha. Ministers addressed the development agenda for the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, and held outreach sessions on: expanding partnerships for development; climate change and development; and human security and the achievement of the MDGs.

The chair’s summary of the meeting expresses the Ministers’ firm commitment to double aid for Africa by 2010 and emphasized that, to realize the goal of halving the proportion of people living in poverty, growth needs to be inclusive and sustainable. On climate change and development, the G8 Ministers recognized the inextricable link between these two issues, highlighting that they have to be dealt with in an integrated manner. In particular, they noted the urgency in assisting developing countries, which are most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change, in their adaptation efforts.

In the water and sanitation sector, the Ministers highlighted the need to promote good water governance for sustainable use of water resources and called for a review of the Evian Action Plan to measure its progress. G8 Development Meeting Chair’s Summary | G8 Development Meeting website |