“When leaders of the Group of 8 (G8) industrialised nations meet in Deauville, France, later this week, there is a strong possibility that politics will take precedence over traditional socioeconomic issues like food security and development aid, which are being overshadowed by the Arab revolution and Palestinian statehood,” Inter Press Service writes of the G8 meeting, which begins on Thursday.  

“The upcoming G8 likely will be dominated by a range of international political issues, especially Libya,” according to Rob Vos of the U.N.’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Vos said the situation with the nuclear reactor in Japan also is a likely discussion point (Deen, 5/25).

Meanwhile, Shenggen Fan, director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute, is calling on the G8 “to make stronger ties with Africa a top priority at their meeting in Deauville, France, especially regarding food security and poverty reduction,” VOA News reports. “For the last decade or so, the partnership between Africa and the development agencies or the development partners, has been strengthened significantly. But I think there’s still room to improve,” said Fan (DeCapua, 5/25). In a statement (.pdf), Fan also said, “Monitoring progress on past pledges – by international donors and African policymakers alike – also needs to be high on the Deauville agenda” (5/23).