28th G8 summit

The 28th G8 Summit took place in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada on June 26 and June 27, 2002. One of the main highlights of this Summit was the mentioning, in the final communique, that Russia would become a "true" full member of the G8. This would be accomplished by allowing it to host its first G8 Summit, starting in 2006. Thus, the rotation of the G8 Presidency was changed, placing Russia between the United Kingdom and Germany.

Leaders at the summit

The current and main membership of the G8 has remained constant, since Russia joined in at the 1997 G8 Summit at Denver, Colorado; however, the number of aides each leader brings has varied. At Kananaskis, member countries were restricted to bringing 40 essential aides each compared to the 1,000 aides the Americans had brought to the summit when it was held in Genoa the year before. [ [http://www.huntsvilleforester.com/huntsvilleforester/article/108801 "Exciting times ahead,"] "Huntsville Forrester" (Huntsville, Ontario). June 25, 2008.]

Permanent G8 host participants

The composition of the G8 summit is a perennial topic.
* Canada Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister.
* France Jacques Chirac, President.
* Germany Gerhard Schröder, Chancellor.
* Italy Silvio Berlusconi, Prime Minister.
* Japan Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister.
* Russia Vladimir Putin, President.
* United Kingdom Tony Blair, Prime Minister.
* United States George W. Bush, President.

Invited leaders (partial participation)

A number of national leaders were invited to attend the summit and to participate in some, but not all, G8 summit activities.
*flagicon|South Africa South Africa Thabo Mbeki, President
*flagicon|Nigeria Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo, President
*flagicon|Algeria Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President
*flagicon|Senegal Senegal Abdoulaye Wade, President

Heads of international organizations

Leaders of major international organizations have been invited to attend in the past; and this practice was continued: The G8 summits have considered the President of the European Commission as a permanently welcome participant in all G8 meetings and decision-making since 1981. [Reuters: [http://uk.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUKB26280520080703?sp=true "Factbox: The Group of Eight: what is it?"] , July 3, 2008.]
*flagicon|UN United Nations Kofi Annan, Secretary-General
* European Union Romano Prodi, Commission President. [G8 Research Group: [http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/summit/2002kananaskis/delegations.html Delegations;] cite web| url = http://www.deljpn.ec.europa.eu/union/showpage_en_union.external.g8.php| title = EU and the G8| accessdate = 2007-09-25| publisher = European Commission]

Priorities

Traditionally, a host country of the G8 summit sets the agenda for negotiations, which take place primarily amongst multi-national civil servants in the weeks before the summit itself, leading to a joint declaration which all countries can agree to sign. The Presidency of the G8 is held by the leader of a current national government, whether it is a president, prime minister or chancellor (with Germany) of that particular G8 country. It lasts from January 1st to December 31st of such year.

Citizens' responses and authorities' counter-responses

The previous summit, the 27th G8 summit, in Genoa, Italy was the site of large anti-globalization protests and occasionally violent conflict between protesters and the police. In contrast to Genoa, most of the area near was closed to the public during the summit, and protesters were kept far away, mainly in Calgary. The protests were peaceful, attended by groups including the Raging Grannies.

Kananaskis was selected because of its isolated location. Security was augmented by F-18 jet fighters and helicopters which patrolled the skies non-stop; all major thoroughfares were closed, many of the shops in nearby Calgary were boarded up, and police reportedly outnumbered protesters six to one. It was the largest peacetime security operation in Canadian history.Wahl, Harry. [http://www.huntsvilleforester.com/HuntsvilleForester/article/109252 " Cost of security for the G8 Summit,"] "Huntsville Forrester." July 2, 2008.]

Security was very tight at the summit, costing taxpayers in excess of $200-millionAndreatta, David. [http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080711.whuntsville12/BNStory/Front/home "Brace yourself, Huntsville. The G8 is coming,"] "Globe and Mail" (Toronto). July 12, 2008.] . It attracted thousands of protesters and security was provided by 5,000 to 7,000 police and military officers. [ [http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=5544cfb9-56c2-451b-80d9-8c0c65a19ec8 "Ontario resort picked for G8 summit in 2010,"] "Gazette" (Montreal). June 20, 2008.] This was the first G-8 summit held after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Accomplishments

The 2002 conference is said to have pumped some $300-million into the Kananaskis economy; [see above] ] but it could be just as accurate to say that the cost of the summit, not the benefit to the community, was $300 million.

In response to and support of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), the Kananaskis Summit produced an African Action Plan, which contained commitments on promoting peace and security; strengthening institutions and governance; fostering trade, economic growth and sustainable development; implementing debt relief; expanding knowledge; improving health and confronting HIV/AIDS; increasing agricultural productivity; and, improving water resource management. [Iwuagwu, Obi. [http://www.businessdayonline.com/analysis/comments/13137.html "Africa and the G8 Summits,"] "Business Day" (Lagos, Nigeria). July 17, 2008.]

References

See also

* G8

External links

* G8 Research Group: [http://www.g8.utoronto.ca G8 Information Centre] , University of Toronto
* Official G8 website: [http://www.g8.gc.ca/sumdocs2002-en.asp Kananaskis]
* [http://g8.activist.ca/ "G8 Activism": 2002 G8 Summit and earlier archives]