UN chief and Brown to talk over G8 vows

Published on Thursday 5 April 2007 11:56

CHANCELLOR Gordon Brown and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan were back at Gleneagles today to discuss the progress of G8 pledges made nearly two years ago.

The pair were set to be among several VIPs visiting the luxury Perthshire resort to outline how the influential group's pledges have fared since being announced in July 2005.

The eight leaders of the world's leading industrialised nations, including Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George Bush, took over the hotel for three days to talk about world poverty, trade, climate change and the Aids epidemic.

Among the promises they made were an annual increase in global aid by 25.3 billion by 2010, to wipe out debts for some of the poorest countries in the world, and to provide universal access to HIV medicines in Africa within five years.

The lavish summit took place amid the aftermath of the 7/7 London bombings, and attracted hundreds of anti-poverty protesters.

Today's much smaller version is called Gleneagles In A Tent.