Blair in pre-G8 tour
Tony Blair is to undertake a whistle-stop world tour prior to the G8 summit in July.
He aims to meet all of the G8 leaders before the centrepiece summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly said that Africa and climate change will be the focus of the UK’s presidency and will be hoping that meaningful agreement on action can be reached.
Key UK proposals include the creation of an international finance facility to raise more money for poverty relief in the third world. The USA could prove a stumbling block on this though and on efforts to tackle climate change. Senior US advisers have previously said the link between human emissions and climate change is not scientifically proven.
As such, Mr Blair’s visit to Washington is likely to be crucial.
First stop on the PM’s tour will be Italy to meet ally Silvio Berlusconi, where European issues are also expected to be discussed.
He will later travel personally to Russia, America, France and Germany before holding video conferences with the Canadian and Japanese prime ministers.
The Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said this morning that the UK had “deliberately set out an ambitious agenda for the G8 and now was the time for real negotiations”.
He said that they would not make a running commentary on negotiations, but no-one in the G8 disputed prioritising climate change and Africa. The PMOS added that he believed Britain was “making progress and that we could fulfil our ambitions”.
