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3rd Day of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit
Outreach Working Session / Major Economies Leaders Meeting (MEM) Press Conference by the Chair / Other Events
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Click photographs to enlarge
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In the morning, discussions on global warming issues and other topics took place at the outreach working session among the G8 leaders and leaders of five other nations, namely, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of India, the United Mexican States, and the Republic of South Africa, and at the subsequent Major Economies Leaders Meeting (MEM) in which, in addition to the leaders who participated in the outreach working session, the leaders of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Republic of Indonesia, and the Republic of Korea attended. The outreach working session continued in the afternoon, and the three days of discussion then came to an end. Upon the completion of the G8 Summit, Prime Minister Fukuda held the Chair's Press Conference at the International Media Center and announced the Chair's Summary of the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit. On the environment and climate change, the leaders agreed to seek to share with all Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) the vision of, and together with them to consider and adopt, the goal of achieving at least 50% reduction of global emissions by 2050. The leaders, while sharing the recognition that world economy will lead a robust growth, agreed on the need to address, in particular, issues of elevated oil and food prices and global inflationary pressure, and stability of the financial markets. On development issues, the leaders renewed their commitment to work with developing countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the midpoint to the MDGs. Regarding the assistance to the African nations, the leaders agreed on concrete measures to achieve economic growth and the MDGs, taking into account of the results of the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV). Of political issues, the leaders' focus was on non-proliferation. In particular, they indicated their will to continue their commitments to achieving the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The nations, recognizing the importance of the advancement of Japan-North Korea relations, including of the abduction issue, also expressed their will to cooperate. It was also confirmed that the G8 nations will cooperate to combat terrorism and reconstruct peace. On the situation of Zimbabwe, the G8 countries shared serious concern and issued a statement for the resolution of the issue. Prime Minister Fukuda concluded the three-day G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit as he said, "The Summit this time became extremely important, even more so than recent ones, because this Summit took place at a time when global challenges such as ongoing global warming, soaring oil and food prices, and tension in financial markets are having an impact on the everyday life of people very close to home. At times our discussions got heated, but thanks to that, we have also been able to produce numerous results." After the Chair's Press Conference, Prime Minister Fukuda returned to the hotel that served as the G8 Summit venue and held individual talks with leaders of nations. At the talks with Mr. Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China, Prime Minister Fukuda and President Hu exchanged views on North Korea's nuclear and abduction issues and confirmed that they will steadily advance the recent agreement on cooperation in the East China Sea. Furthermore, Prime Minister Fukuda made proposals on cooperation on the rebuilding and reconstruction activities in areas stricken by the Great Earthquake in Sichuan Province, to which President Hu stated that Japan's assistance is a sign of the Japanese people's friendship with the Chinese people. At the talks with Mr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, Prime Minister Fukuda and Prime Minister Singh exchanged views on issues concerning climate change, energy, and food security, and confirmed that they will cooperate closely in addressing the climate change issue in particular. On Japan-India relations, Prime Minister Fukuda stated that Japan intends to further advance cooperation with India to move the strategic global partnership to a further concrete level, including regional cooperation in Asia and cooperation in areas such as the United Nations Security Council reform, climate change, and the World Trade Organization (WTO). At the talks with Mr. Felipe Calderon Hinojosa, President of the United Mexican States, Prime Minister Fukuda and President Hinojosa exchanged views on the climate change issue and confirmed that they will continue to cooperate closely in addressing the issue. At the talks with Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, Prime Minister Fukuda and President Lula da Silva exchanged views on Japan-Brazil bilateral relations and shared the recognition that Japan and Brazil have been developing increasingly close economic relations in many areas in recent years.@Furthermore, Prime Minister Fukuda stated that he intends to cooperate with President Lula da Silva, with a view to significantly advancing friendly, cooperative relations with Brazil even further. At the talks with Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of the Republic of Indonesia, Prime Minister Fukuda stated that President Yudhoyono's active remarks at the MEM were extremely useful. At the talks with Mr. Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia, Prime Minister Fukuda and Prime Minister Rudd exchanged views on the whaling issue and participation in an international commission on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, among other topics. The leaders also agreed to promote cooperation between Japan and Australia on the occasion of the Fifth Japan-Pacific Islands Forum Summit Meeting (PALM 5), which Japan will host next year, and through other fora.
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