G8, G20 SUMMITS OVERLAP IN CANADA THIS MONTH
Baku, June 16 (AZERTAC). Later this month, both the G8 and G20 summits are being held in Canada, and this year the two summits overlap. The G8 Muskoka Summit will be held June 25th and 26th, while the Toronto G20 summit is set for June 26th and 27th, according to VOA.
Some of the G8 priorities this year include accountability and effectiveness - child and maternal health - nuclear security and the war against terrorists.
John Kirton, director of the G8 Research Group and co-director of the G20 Research group, says overlapping the summits is significant.
“It certainly is the first time,” he says, “at least in a long while when the two summits will be held basically together in tight tandem (in) time, space and inevitably in reality in the coordination between the two.”
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is chairing both summits. Laying the groundwork are representatives for world leaders called Sherpas, a term taken from those who assist climbers reach mountain summits. Harper’s Sherpa is the same for both meetings.
“So, they sort of coordinated every second,” says Kirton, adding, “It’s also the case that the G20 summit is important, because it’s the first time that it’s being co-chaired by an old G8 country, Canada, and a non G8 member of the G20, the Republic of Korea.”
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