32nd G8 summit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 32nd summit of the G8 group of industrialised nations took place from July 15 to July 17, 2006 outside Saint Petersburg, Russia. The venue was the Constantine Palace, which is located in Strelna on the Gulf of Finland.[1][2] Energy security, education, and the fight against infectious diseases were the main issues, with the conflict between Israel and Lebanon also attracting the attention of world leaders. [3]
Contents |
[edit] Leaders at the summit
[edit] Permanent
[edit] Invited (partial participation)
[edit] National leaders
[edit] Heads of international organizations
African Union
Commonwealth of Independent States
- Council of the Heads of State President Nursultan Nazarbayev
European Union
International Atomic Energy Agency
- Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei
- International Energy Agency
- Executive Director Claude Mandil
United Nations
UNESCO
- Director-General Koichiro Matsuura
- World Bank
- President Paul Wolfowitz
World Health Organization
- Acting Director-General Anders Nordström
- World Trade Organization
[edit] Economic issues
Because the Group of Eight is primarily an economic forum between the global economic powerhouses, the focus of the G8 Summit is discussion of economic issues. Some of the pressing items on the agenda: [3]
- Open trade between Russia and the United States, including discussion of Russian entry into the World Trade Organization
- Multibillion dollar aircraft manufacturing contracts, in light of strategy shifts at Airbus and Boeing and worsening airline business performance
- Free energy markets, especially regarding Russia and former Soviet republics, as well as petroleum from the Middle East
- Nigeria, Venezuela, and the Persian Gulf regions have all had reduced energy exports in the past weeks due to various political and technical issues
- Rights for exploration and exploitation of natural gas in Russia and the North Atlantic Ocean / Baltic Sea
- Alternative energy forms, especially relaxing nuclear power regulations; and development of hydrogen as an economically viable energy platform
- Security — both militarily and financially ensuring the future in energy supplies
- Discussion of economic impacts of global instability, drugs, and terrorism
- Education priorities for developed nations, especially encouraging businesses to support education
- Global system to monitor and contain infectious diseases
[edit] Israel-Lebanon crisis
The agenda set up by Russian President Vladimir Putin was largely overshadowed by the continuing violence in Israel and Lebanon. On 16 July, the leaders of the G8 nations agreed on a statement[4] calling for an end to the fighting and the release of the Israeli soldiers.[5] The leaders did not, however, go as far as calling for a ceasefire.
[edit] Human rights and police repression
During the week leading up to the summit (7–11 July), police in Moscow, St Petersburg and elsewhere around Russia detained somewhere between a few dozen to possibly two hundred human rights and political activists. Many of them were sentenced to ten days' imprisonment, preventing them from participating in protests surrounding the official summit. The Russian Deputy Interior Minister Alexander Chekalin said that the allegations of harassment were "from the realms of supposition" and that the police's actions were "commensurate with the situation at hand".[6]
Cherie Blair, wife of the British Prime Minister and a human rights lawyer, slipped out of the summit in order to meet with local human rights groups and offer them free legal advice. Her leaving the summit was officially endorsed by Downing Street, and has reportedly furthered a rift between Britain and Russia.[7]
[edit] Recorded conversations
During the summit, a conversation between President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair was inadvertently recorded by a U.S. TV crew preparing for a live broadcast.[8]
The UK's Independent newspaper put a transcript of the conversation on its front page on 18 July, alongside some notes explaining the context of some of the comments. The paper singled out Bush's apparent snub of an offer by Blair to mediate in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, in favour of sending Condoleezza Rice.[9] Although Britons were upset with the perception that Blair was subordinate to Bush, in the US the fact that Bush used an expletive (claiming the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict would not have escalated if Syria would have pressured the Hezbollah to "stop doing this shit") was of greater concern. [10]
[edit] References
- ^ A Brief Overview. G8Russia (2006). Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
- ^ PALACE OF CONGRESSES. G8Russia (2006). Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
- ^ a b Address by Russian President Vladimir Putin to visitors to the official site of Russia’s G8 Presidency in 2006. G8Russia (2006). Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
- ^ Middle East. G8Russia (2006-07-16). Retrieved on 2006-07-13.
- ^ "Merkel: G-8 agrees on Mideast statement", Associated Press, Yahoo!, 2006-07-16. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
- ^ "Dozens preemptively arrested in leadup to St Petersburg G8 Summit", Wikinews, 2006-07-12. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
- ^ Blomfield, Adrian and Wilson, Graeme. "Cherie Blair infuriates Russia with offer of help to activists", The Daily Telegraph, 2006-07-18. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
- ^ "Transcript: Bush and Blair's unguarded chat", BBC News Online, 2006-07-18. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
- ^ "'Yo, Blair!': Overheard at the G8", The Independent, 2006-07-18. Retrieved on 2006-07-19.
- ^ "Bush frustration sparks expletive", CNN, 2006-07-17. Retrieved on 2006-07-20.
[edit] External links
[edit] Press and media
- BBC News: Russian WTO bid falters at summit
- Business Finance News: G8 SUMMIT At-a-glance guide to the main points
- Russia Indymedia Coverage English language reporting from the protests against the summit
- Russian roulette Article previewing likely policing methods at the summit, 13 July 2006
| Preceded by 31st G8 summit |
G8 Summit 2006 |
Succeeded by 33rd G8 summit |
