The G8 Development Ministers' Meeting was held on April 5 and 6, 2008, in Tokyo.

1. What is the G8 Development Ministers' Meeting?

The G8 Development Ministers' Meeting is a gathering of the ministers in charge of development issues from the Group of Eight countries and the EC for the purpose of discussing current important issues in international development. As issues related to international development, such as African development, health and education, are discussed at the G8 Summit more and more frequently, the Development Ministers' Meeting began to be held as an independent Ministerial meeting in 2002, the year, when Canada hosted the G8 Summit. At the most recent Development Ministers' Meeting held in Berlin, Germany in March 2007, discussions for development issues were deepened prior to the Heiligendamm Summit meeting and dialogues were held with emerging economies and Africa's regional organizations. From Japan, then Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya attended the Meeting and played an active role in the discussions.

Prior to the Hokkaido Toyako Summit in July 2008, the G8 Development Ministers' Meeting, the first one to be hosted by Japan, was held in Tokyo on April 5 and 6, 2008 and chaired by H.E. Mr. Masahiko Koumura, the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) in May and G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit in July will build on the outcomes of the Development Ministers' Meeting.

Children at a primary school built through Japanese cooperation in Burkina Faso. (Photo: Kenshiro Imamura/JICA)
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Ethiopia residents participating in planning, building and operating a school in Ethiopia through Japanese assistance.

2. Previous Meetings

Based on a proposal made by then UK Secretary of State for International Development Claire Short, the first G8 Development Ministers' Meeting was held on the occasion of the Annual Meeting of the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in October 1998, for the purposes of following up on development agenda of the Birmingham Summit and of exchanging opinions on development issues. From that time this meeting was usually held concurrently with the Meeting of the World Bank and IMF Joint Development Committee each spring and the Annual Meeting of the World Bank and IMF each autumn.

This series of meetings has been devoted to following up on the decisions related to development issues taken by past summits and to exchanging opinions on various issues in preparation for future summits.

It became customary for the Development Ministers' Meeting to be held independently of the World Bank and IMF meetings, after Canada chaired the meeting in 2002 as a follow up to the Kananaskis Summit.

(1) 2002 (Canada)

　Held in Windsor, Ontario on September 26 and 27, this meeting took up themes such as Africa, infectious diseases, and education, and followed up on the discussions of the International Conference on Financing for Development (held in Monterrey, in March), the Kananaskis Summit (held in June), and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (held in August).

(2) 2003 (France)

Held in Paris on April 23 and 24 in advance of the Evian Summit (held in June), the meeting addressed issues such as water, health, and Africa.

(3) 2005 (UK)

Held in Derby on March 17 and 18 as an Environment and Development Ministers' Meeting, this meeting discussed Africa and climate change, which were the main themes of the Gleneagles Summit.

(4) 2007 (Germany)

Held in Berlin on March 26 and 27, this meeting took up themes such as climate change, investment in Africa, and health, and also served for the first time as a forum for dialogue with emerging economies (China, India, South Africa, Brazil, and Mexico) and Africa's regional organizations.

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A Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteer working as an occupational therapist in Syria. (Photo: Jiro Nakahara/JICA)
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A Japanese Overseas Cooperation Volunteer explaining to children about Chagas disease in Hondulus.

3. Overview of the G8 Development Ministers' Meeting 2008

Schedule

April 5 (Saturday) and April 6 (Sunday), 2008

Venue

Mita Conference Hall (Mita Kaigisho), Minato-ku, Tokyo

Participating Nations and Organizations

The G8 member countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S.A) and the EC
Outreach countries (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Republic of Korea and South Africa) and international organizations (AU Commission, ASEAN Secretariat, OECD, UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank)

Tentative Agenda
  • G8 Session: Development Agenda at Hokkaido Toyako Summit
  • Outreach Session 1: Expanding Partnership for Development
  • Outreach Session 2: Climate Change and Development
  • Outreach Session 3: Human Security and the Achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

4. Press Release

Chair's Summary