G8 adopts an action plan to eliminate poverty

Participants in the G8 summit in Sea Island co-ordinated and adopted an action plan for the use of business potential to liquidate poverty. The document says that, to spread the experience of the private sector to the development process, G8, working jointly with relevant international organisations, plans to sponsor a conference of representatives of the private sector and the governments of emerging and industrialised countries, to be held in autumn 2004.

Since the flow of transborder money transfers has reached nearly $100 bln a year and the role of this money in financing the development of countries that provide the labour force is growing, the G8 states have proclaimed their intention to lead international efforts to reduce tariffs on this service.

They can be reduced by encouraging competition, using innovative payment mechanisms, and improving access to the official financial channels in the sender and recipient countries. The G8 countries think these measures may help to halve money transfer tariffs.

The summit participants also agreed to draft, jointly with the emerging countries, pilot projects, promote measures to improve the business and investment climate, help illegal companies get out of the "shadow," create basic elements of mortgage markets, and develop municipal bon markets for ensuring water supply and sanitary control.

Besides, the G8 countries promised to advance a global initiative on market microfinancing in view of the forthcoming UN-proclaimed International Year of Microfinancing in 2005.

Supplements to the action plan point out that Russia is studying the possibilities of partnership to improve money transfer conditions with some CIS countries, where such financing is vital for development. The supplement mentions Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Tajikistan.