UK G8 presidency build up begins

Friday, 1 October 2004 12:00 AM

The build up to the UK's presidency of the G8 has begun with the official launch of the logo.

The logo, a stylised thistle, has been designed by London design firm HGV to reflect the traditional Scottish setting of Gleneagles, where the main G8 summit will be held.

The UK takes over the presidency of the G8 in January 2005. Tony Blair has said that he intends to ensure that the key focus of the summit will be Africa and climate change.

Mr Blair's calls for action on climate change received a boost yesterday when the Russian government decided to approve the Kyoto agreement and send it to its parliament for ratification. The treaty requires that nations responsible for at least 55 per cent of the world's emissions must ratify the treaty for it to enter binding international law. With America refusing to sign, Russia was the only country that could ensure the treaty entered law.

The next big challenge will be to put pressure on the US to reduce emissions.

Welcoming the launch of the logo, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, said: "I am pleased to announce the choice of the logo. It is a modern interpretation of a traditional Scottish symbol, which will be used for a wide variety of events throughout our G8 Presidency next year."

Scotland's External Relations Minister, Andy Kerr, said: "I am delighted that the event, which will be attended by Heads of States from around the world, will have a distinctly Scottish flavour from the outset through the logo.

"The G8 summit will provide Scotland with a fantastic opportunity to showcase our ambitions and to raise our profile as a destination, a business location and a potential place to live and work.

"It is also a chance to prove on a world stage that Scotland can host such prestigious events."

The G8 is a meeting of the heads of the world's most developed countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the USA and the UK. The President of the European Commission will also attend the summit.

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