After Genoa: smaller summits

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien yesterday picked a tiny Rocky Mountains resort for next year's Group of Eight summit - to force delegations to slim down and keep demonstrators at bay.

The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the US will meet from June 26 to 28 next year in Kananaskis, Alberta.

Each will be limited to 30 to 35 people on site, a tiny fraction of the 800 to 1,000 that officials said the US delegation had in Genoa.

"It is important for the world to meet. So if the anarchists want to destroy democracy, we will not let them succeed," Mr. Chretien said.

He conceded that the demonstrators had helped focus the G-8 leaders' attention on problems of development and poverty, but said "we would probably have moved anyway."

Following are other key results reached at the three-day summit:

To commit $1.3 billion to a new global health fund.

To launch a detailed development plan for Africa.

To "continue progress" on debt relief for the poorest countries.

Leaders agreed on the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

They endorsed an action plan by their Digital Opportunity Task Force to bridge the "digital divide" between rich and poor nations.

They pressed warring Israelis and Palestinians to accept outside observers.

They advised the two Koreas to hurry up with a return summit.

(c) Copyright 2001. The Christian Science Monitor