ROUNDUP: G8 ministers discuss new partnerships

from EUX TV

Berlin (dpa) - Development ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) leading industrial nations met Tuesday in Berlin to discuss ways of improving cooperation with developing countries.

Representatives from emerging economies India, China, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa are taking part in the two-day meeting, which is also intended to prepare for the G8's June summit in Germany.

German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul called for more triangular cooperation arrangements under which an industrial nation or group the like G8 or European Union works on a joint project with a developing country and an emerging economy.

"Emerging economies have shown great interest in such projects," Wieczorek-Zeul said in a radio interview shortly before the conference got under way.

The minister said cooperation between industrial nations and developing economies was necessary in order to realize the millennium development goals by the target date of 2015.

The eight goals, laid down by the United Nations, range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education.

Wieczorek-Zeul said India and China had an important role to play in determining the framework for international development policies and could also act as "an anchor for development and security in their respective regions."

"We need global partnerships in order to make progress on issues such as climate protection or efforts to combat the spread of AIDS," she said.

Efforts to improve Africa's energy infrastructure is another topic of the Berlin meeting. Africa has sufficient energy resources, but is lagging behind other regions in making use of renewables such as solar energy.

Africa will also be one of the main items at the G8 summit attended by the leaders of Italy, France, Russia, the US, Canada, Britain, Japan and the bloc's current president Germany.

The children's relief organization World Vision urged the G8 to increase its commitment to combatting AIDS is Africa, saying poverty on the continent could only be reduced if the spread of the disease is stopped.