July 2, 2010

Canada Hosts Successful G-8 and G-20 Summits

Last weekend, Canada had the honour to host the world's most influential leaders at G-8 and G-20 meetings in Muskoka and Toronto, Ontario. While most of the media coverage focused on demonstrations, protesters and the senseless destruction caused in downtown Toronto, a lot of hard work was done and decisions were made by those participating in the meetings. 

The weekend began with meetings of the G-8 countries including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the European Union. 

During these meetings the leaders focused the G-8 on addressing key challenges in development, international peace and security, and environmental protection. One of Canada's top priorities during the G-8 meetings was to improve the health of mothers, newborns and children under the age of five in developing countries. By the conclusion of the meeting, the G-8 countries committed an additional $5 billion US over the next five years, towards the Muskoka Initiative on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. 

We saw this spirit of cooperation and progress continue during meetings of the G-20 nations. 

A little more than a decade ago, the G-20 began as a forum for finance ministers and central bank governors to meet once a year to discuss international economic issues. It later evolved into a forum for world leaders to meet and discuss international economic cooperation. The G-20 consists of 19 countries and the European Union, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. 

Over the weekend, leaders were able to agree on the next steps they should take to ensure a full return to growth with quality jobs, to reform and strengthen financial systems and to create strong, sustainable and balanced global growth. 

The nations involved are all determined to be accountable for the commitments they made this weekend. And while there is still a lot to do to fully entrench the global recovery, the decisions made were important steps forward and they were steps that Canada was seeking.