Has Progress Been Made?

from Sky News

Gordon Brown and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan are set to discuss the progress of the Gleneagles G8 pledges made nearly two years ago.

The pair will be among several VIPs visiting the luxury Perthshire resort to outline how the influential group's pledges have fared since being announced in July 2005.

The eight leaders of the world's top industrialised nations, including Tony Blair and President Bush, took over the hotel for three days to talk about world poverty, trade, climate change and the Aids epidemic.

Among the promises they made were an annual increase in global aid by £25.3bn by 2010, to wipe out debts for some of the poorest countries in the world, and to provide universal access to HIV medicines in Africa within five years.

The lavish summit took place amid the aftermath of the 7/7 London bombings, and attracted hundreds of anti-poverty protesters.

After it finished, Mr Annan hailed the gathering as "the greatest summit for Africa ever".

Today's much smaller version is called Gleneagles In A Tent.

It is being hosted by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Alan McDonald, and Scotland's leading Catholic Cardinal Keith O'Brien.

The Government's Development Secretary Hilary Benn is also due to speak, with Scottish First Minister Jack McConnell also attending.