We have just had another G8 Summit. As other blogs here have discussed, there are clearly problems with the G8. Campaigners, lobbyists and developing country governments put huge amounts of time and attention into deceasing returns.
Phew! What a couple of weeks it has been. World leaders have a habit of stirring up a lot of commotion whenever they get together, and last week was no exception. Rallies, protests, frantic blogging and a transport nightmare all made last week very interesting.
Barack Obama is standing three rows in front of me. Here he is!
He’s saying this is an historic summit. He is promising (sounds like) big new money for Africa. He’s saying “our citizens are all hurting. They need us to come together.”
Ensuring a fair and sustainable recovery for all
Judge for yourself – read the official communique here:
http://www.londonsummit.gov.uk/resources/en/news/15766232/communique-020409
The communique is out. The talks are over. The leaders are doing their press conferences.
It’s 3pm and you get the feeling things are starting to happen. There’s more scuttling around by officials, journalists and others. The nearest comparison to this experience I can make is being a (prospective) dad on the day of labour – hours of waiting with not much happening, and then a growing sense of momentum and then … actually no, that’s a rubbish analogy.
How’s it looking? Not clear how strong the communique will be on the need for leaders to keep their promises on aid – it will be really bad news if there’s any hint of backtracking there. Still apparently some unresolved areas – will they agree to sell some IMF gold and use it (or at least some of it) to help poorer countries recover? Will they be decisive in clamping down on tax havens – one of the promises most heavily trailed ahead of this summit?
Just got a hug from Bob Geldof. He said to me: “Adrian! SDRs, man!” I said: “I know!” (I do. Honest.)
The biggest rock star here though is clearly Obama. I’m told he’s taking twice as long as he should to get from one meeting to the next because people want to have their photo taken with him in the corridors and are ignoring all protocol in order to get it. I wonder how long this will last. As for the rest… Apparently Nicolas Sarkozy is given to grand gestures with his arms, Angela Merkel has been pretty quiet, Ethiopia’s Meles Zenawi has been very active in the discussions…
In theory Gordon Brown will do a press briefing in a few minutes, so things should be clearer soon…
The G20Voice bloggers are in the middle of a sea of desks where the world’s media are sitting. You can tell the difference between us. The press are all in smart casual gear with laptops and mobiles sitting at long desks looking serious. The bloggers are all in smart casual gear with laptops and mobiles sitting at long desks looking serious with a “G20Voice” sign on their desk.
I’m off to look for a decision-maker.
Me and Dominic poised (like a coiled spring) to blog for the world
Alarm goes off at 4.15am. I have to get to Docklands by 7 to get through security and everything. I wonder if Barack Obama started his day with a 5am banana in Princes Risborough station car park.
