The 28th G8 Summit was held in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, on June 26–27, 2002.

Overview

The Group of Seven (G7) was an unofficial forum which brought together the heads of the richest industrialized countries: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada starting in 1976. The G8, meeting for the first time in 1997, was formed with the addition of Russia. In addition, the President of the European Commission has been formally included in summits since 1981. The summits were not meant to be linked formally with wider international institutions; and in fact, a mild rebellion against the stiff formality of other international meetings was a part of the genesis of cooperation between France's president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing and West Germany's chancellor Helmut Schmidt as they conceived the initial summit of the Group of Six (G6) in 1975.

The G8 summits during the 21st-century have inspired widespread debates, protests and demonstrations; and the two- or three-day event becomes more than the sum of its parts, elevating the participants, the issues and the venue as focal points for activist pressure.

Accomplishments

The 2002 conference is said to have cost $300-million

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien proposed and carried the Market Access Initiative, so that the then 48 least developed countries (LDCs) could profit from "trade-not-aid". This was part of a multi-year initiative by the Technical Cooperation Division at the Secretariat of the WTO, spearheaded by Dr. Chiedu Osakwe, the WTO Special Coordinator for the LDCs beginning in 1999. Concurrently, the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) resulted in the phasing out of apparel quotas under the Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA) in 2005. Developing country quotas were subsequently removed on 1 January 2005, and tariff reduction was to continue until 2010.

In the summit's final communique, one of the unexpected highlights was an announcement 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 G8 is an unofficial annual forum for the leaders of Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Security was very tight at the summit, costing taxpayers in excess of $200 million. It attracted thousands of protesters and security was provided by 5,000 to 7,000 police and military officers. Protests were described as largely peaceful. This was the first G-8 summit held after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Business opportunity

For some, the G8 summit became a profit-generating event; as for example, the official G8 Summit magazines which have been published under the auspices of the host nations for distribution to all attendees since 1998.

Core G8 participants

<gallery class="center" widths="120">

File:Jean Chrétien 1993.jpg| CanadaJean Chrétien,<br />Prime Minister (Host)

File:Jacques Chirac (1997) (cropped).jpg| FranceJacques Chirac,<br />President

File:Berlusconi-2010-1.jpg| ItalySilvio Berlusconi,<br />Prime Minister

File:Junichiro Koizumi 20010426.jpg| JapanJunichirō Koizumi,<br />Prime Minister

File:Vladimir Putin official portrait (cropped).jpg| RussiaVladimir Putin,<br />President

File:Tony Blair 1997.jpg| United KingdomTony Blair,<br />Prime Minister

File:George-W-Bush.jpeg| United StatesGeorge W. Bush,<br />President

</gallery>

<gallery class="center" widths="90px">

File:Romano Prodi 1999 (cropped).jpg| European UnionRomano Prodi,<br />Commission President

File:José María Aznar impone al diputado Enrique Múgica la Gran Cruz de la Orden de Isabel la Católica. Pool Moncloa. 12 de mayo de 1999 (cropped).jpeg|José Maria Aznar, Prime Minister of Spain and rotating Council President

</gallery>

Notes

References

  • Bayne, Nicholas and Robert D. Putnam. (2005). Staying together: the G8 summit confronts the 21st century. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate Publishing. ; OCLC 217979297
  • Reinalda, Bob and Bertjan Verbeek. (1998). Autonomous Policy Making by International Organizations. London: Routledge. ; ; OCLC 39013643
  • Official G8 website: Kananaskis summit, 2002; n.b., no official website is created for any G7 summit prior to 1995 -- see the 21st G7 summit.
  • University of Toronto: G8 Research Group, G8 Information Centre
  • G8 2002, delegations & documents
  • "G8 Activism": 2002 G8 Summit and earlier archives