15/11/2005

Blair urges nations to honour G8 pledges

Tony Blair has called for rich nations to honour the pledges made to poorer countries at the Gleneagles G8 summit.

During a speech at the Lord Mayor of London’s banquet at the Guildhall, the Prime Minister called for the cutting of trade barriers and agricultural subsidies in order to help “break the log jam” in world trade talks.

Mr Blair announced that the UK would treble aid to £100 million per year by 2010 and urged other G8 nations to do the same, ahead of next month’s talks in Hong Kong.

The Prime Minister said that US and the European Union needed to reduce subsidies, as well as set an end date for export subsidies and reduce the number of sensitive products that could be given extra protection.

Mr Blair also called for larger developing countries, such as Brazil and India to reduce tariffs on their industrial products and services.

The Prime Minister told banquet guests that there could be “no security or prosperity at home without first dealing with the problems of conflict, terrorism, climate change and poverty”.

He said that next month’s talks presented an opportunity to “tackle some of the most fundamental injustices at the heart of world trade”.

Mr Blair said: “Agreements on trade is also a metaphor for today’s world. Trade increases prosperity. Prosperity gives people and nations a stake in the future. Such a stake shows how we can gain by helping and not harming each other… we will reap what we sow; live with what we do not act to change.”

(KMcA)

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