Leaders from the Group of Eight (G-8) countries gathered for their annual summit from 1-3 June 2003 in Evian, France.

The heads of state of the G-8 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, and the US – met with leaders from emerging and developing countries – Algeria, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Senegal and South Africa – as well as representatives of the UN, World Bank, IMF and WTO and the President of the Swiss Confederation. The three issue areas on their agenda were promoting global economic growth, enhancing sustainable development and improving security.
The leaders discussed implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and Johannesburg agreements related to a number of issues, including through the adoption of an Action Plan on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development. This Action Plan focuses on three areas: global observation; cleaner, more efficient energy and the fight against air pollution and climate change; and agriculture and biodiversity. Those who had ratified the Kyoto Protocol reaffirmed their determination to see it enter into force.
The leaders agreed to widen their dialogue on the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) and the G-8 Africa Action Plan and invited interested countries and relevant international institutions to appoint senior representatives to join this partnership. They agreed on ways to improve famine prevention mechanisms and long-term food security, and adopted an Action Plan to help meet the Millennium and Johannesburg goals of halving the number of people without access to clean water and sanitation by 2015. They discussed health issues related to: the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; access to health care, research on diseases mostly affecting developing countries; eradicating polio by 2005; and improving international cooperation against new epidemics such as SARS. They invited their finance ministers to report in September 2003 on the financing instruments for development, including the proposal for a new international finance facility. They reaffirmed their commitment to the Heavily-Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative and urged the IMF and World Bank to intensify their efforts to secure the full participation of all creditors. The leaders also welcomed work on the “e-government” model promoting efficiency and transparency in developing countries, confirmed their determination to strengthen international efforts to tackle the problem of illegal logging, endorsed an Action Plan to reduce the threat posed by excessive exploitation of marine resources and enhance maritime security, and established the G-8 Nuclear Safety and Security Group. For more information, see the G-8 Evian, France website at: http://www.g8.fr/evian/english/