Official website of the President of Russia

News   /

The first decision taken by the G8 leaders at the summit was on Russia assuming the functions of the G8 chair in 2006.

The summit gave special attention to the fight against international terrorism. The participants outlined basic principles for barring terrorist access to weapons of mass destruction.

The summit adopted a joint plan of action to ensure safety of international passenger and freight traffic by air, sea and land.

An important result of the summit was an agreement on the G8 global partnership to prevent the spread of weapons and materials of mass destruction. Under the relevant document, Russia will be helped to destroy chemical weapons, utilise out of commission nuclear submarines, and provide jobs for scientists who once developed weapons. The plan is to allocate up to $20 billion for this purpose within the next ten years.

The leaders of the eight major world powers also discussed the development of the world economy. They spoke in favour of Russia’s recognition as a market economy and expressed their political support for its accession into the WTO.

Global efforts aimed at combating poverty and ensuring sustainable development were discussed with Russia’s active participation.

The G8 leaders approved the G8 working group’s report on education and adopted a statement which, among other things, stressed the need to ensure obligatory primary education for children in all countries by 2015.

The summit participants approved the G8 plan of action in Africa which should help to establish and strengthen peace in some African countries. The plan is aimed at reducing the African countries’ debt by $30 billion, which is about two-thirds of the total. Russia intends to take an active part in establishing a real partnership between the industrialised nations and the African continent.

Leaders of some African states, i.e., the Presidents of Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa and Senegal, were invited to the summit to discuss the situation in Africa. Kofi Annan, UN Secretary General, also participated in the discussion.