Issues
The summit was intended as a venue for resolving differences among its members. As a practical matter, the summit was also conceived as an opportunity for its members to give each other mutual encouragement in the face of difficult economic decisions.
The overall theme of the summit was ways to reduce poverty. Topics discussed at the meeting included an evaluation of the Enhanced HIPC Initiative which involved debt forgiveness to Heavily Indebted Poor Countries, the Global Health Fund, the global digital divide, the environment and food security. Although the main summit was from July 20 to the 22nd, the summit was preceded by a meeting of the G8 foreign ministers on the 18th and 19th.
The summit was overshadowed by riots in the city after a crackdown by police targeting anti-globalisation groups and the death of a 23 year-old Carlo Giuliani, leading some to talk of a deliberately followed strategy of tension.
Read more about this topic: 27th G8 Summit
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—Lawrence Balter (20th century)
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