John R. Bradley, Managing Editor

JEDDAH, 1 June 2003 — Amid the chaos of the tear gas fired at violent protesters in the streets and the grand speeches lacking in genuine substance given from the conference stage, two separate but equally important agendas will be promoted at the G-8 summit in the French resort of Evian today.

The first is a personal initiative undertaken by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, who has been making intense contacts with various delegations to push for peace in the Middle East.

At the same time, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), a plan drawn up by African leaders to produce clean government and strong economic policies, is being hailed as the first African-led initiative aimed at stamping out corruption, reforming economies and promoting democracy in the impoverished continent.

Prince Abdullah — whose own Pact for Reforming the Arab Condition was released last year and was unanimously endorsed by the Arab League — and Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal were invited to the G-8 summit by French President Jacques Chirac.

They are accompanied by a high-ranking Saudi delegation, including Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, Saudi ambassador to the US, Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi, minister of water and electricity, and Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, minister of finance.

According to Okaz, Prince Abdullah will meet on the sidelines of the summit with US President George W. Bush, French President Jacques Chirac, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Jordan’s King Abdallah and King Muhammad VI of Morocco.

The meetings will focus on preparing for the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, and doing everything possible to ensure that the road map for peace in the Middle East is a success, according to the Jeddah-based Arabic daily.

The talks with world leaders will also concentrate on achieving constructive cooperation in the fight against terrorism and strengthening regional and international security, the paper added.

At the Sharm El-Sheikh summit tomorrow, Crown Prince Abdullah, Bush and Mubarak will be joined by the leaders of Jordan, Bahrain and Morocco and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. The Arab-US summit will work out strategies on how to ensure the success of the Middle East road map.

After the session, Bush will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Abbas in the Jordanian city of Aqaba on June 5 for another summit, the intention of which is to speed up the implementation of the road map.

Developing countries were meanwhile poised to press rich nations in Evian for more say in world affairs, and to step up the drive against poverty.

“The Evian summit... should serve as an occasion to remind world leaders about the imperative of honoring commitments in order to promote global peace, security... and sustainable development,” Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo had said earlier.

At a meeting in Nigeria last week, NEPAD sought to counter criticism of corruption and poor government by appointing a panel to monitor the performance of the countries in the development plan.

The G-8 — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States — have been demanding clear signals from NEPAD countries that they are serious before they receive some $6 billion in aid pledged at last year’s G-8 meeting in Canada.

Chirac, the summit host, has pledged to make Africa’s development a priority, describing it as the “most neglected continent”.

And this week Bush launched a $15-billion five-year plan to fight AIDS, rapidly becoming one of Africa’s biggest killers.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for his part has said he will use the meeting today to ask wealthy countries to consider a tax on the weapons trade to finance a fund to tackle hunger in the world.

“It is in the interest of industrialized countries to promote growth in developing countries, because those countries are potential outlets for their goods,” Lula said in an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde this week.

Lula first launched the idea of an anti-hunger fund at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January.

The Brazilian leader and Mexico’s President Vicente Fox have also both indicated they are seeking permanent seats on the UN Security Council, and would press the idea in Evian even if they did not expect it to be accepted immediately.

“I’m also coming with the proposal that Mexico should be permanently invited to the G-8 because we’re the world’s ninth largest economy, and that should be only natural and logical,” Fox told the Financial Times.

Both leaders have reiterated calls for the abolition of agricultural subsidies in rich countries in recent days, a demand that most developing countries have been trying to drive home in the World Trade Organization