13 July 2006
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is proposing that the world's five leading developing countries, including South Africa, to be allowed to join the G8 in order to secure multilateral deals on climate change, trade and Iran, London's Guardian newspaper reported on Thursday.
Blair is to make the proposal at the G8 summit of top developed nations - Great Britain, the US, Russia, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Italy, as well as the European Union - which begins in Russia this weekend.
His suggestion is that South Africa, China, India, Brazil, and Mexico become fully-fledged members of the body, effectively a new G13. The Guardian reports that the British leader believes the first fruits of closer engagement could be a breakthrough in the stalled global trade talks.
Blair will outline at the summit his blueprint for what he calls "muscular multilateralism", arguing that the only solution to deep-seated global problems is in stronger multilateral institutions and a willingness to confront issues such as security, peacekeeping and poverty.
The newspaper says he will also press for work to be accelerated on a successor to the Kyoto treaty on climate change, a process he believes would be greatly enhanced by the inclusion of South Africa, China, India, Brazil, and Mexico in the G8 structure.
"There is no way we can deal with climate change unless we get an agreement that binds in the US, China and India," Blair told the Guardian.
"We have got to get an agreement with a binding framework - of that I am in no doubt at all. There is no point in thinking Congress is going to enter a binding commitment to change the structure of the US economy without China and India being part of the deal."
He argued that solutions must be found in a smaller group than the cumbersome 120-strong Kyoto framework.
South African President Thabo Mbeki is set to join leaders of the other four developing nations for an "outreach session" at the summit, but Blair is pressing for the arrangement to be made more formal. South Africa, Brazil and India are key players in the trade talks, with a crisis meeting planned in St Petersburg this weekend in an attempt to give the talks a political push.
"The leaders need to say to the negotiators: 'Here is the outline of a deal, now go away and sort out the details'," Blair said.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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