World leaders are assembling at Lough Erne golf resort, Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, to discuss the global economy. With the UK holding the G-8 presidency, Prime Minister David Cameron has set an agenda of trade deals, transparency and tax evasion.
European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and German President Angela Merkel will meet with colleagues from outside Europe, including Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and President of the United States Barack Obama for discussions beginning at 16:45 local time.
African leaders participating in the summit include: Chairman of the African Union, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn; the President of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma; President of Liberia Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and President Macky Sall of Senegal.
A working dinner on Monday at 8pm will cover foreign policy and Tuesday’s schedule will including a session covering counter-terrorism.
In a telephone conference ahead of the G-8 summit, President Obama spoke with British Prime Minister Cameron, French President Hollande, Italian Prime Minister Letta, and German Chancellor Merkel about Syria and Libya. President Obama raised the issues of chemical weapon use in Syria and supporting Prime Minister Zeidan in Libya. The US President will also visit Berlin at the invitation of Angela Merkel following the G-8 summit.
The gathering of the Group of Eight will be the 39th meeting since 1976. The UK has hosted Summits at London (1977, 1984, and 1991) and Birmingham (1988) in England, while the 2005 Summit was held at Gleneagles, in Scotland. The core members of the group are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the European Commission and the European Council.
