Leaders At The Summit
The G8 is an unofficial annual forum for the leaders of Canada, the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The 35th G8 summit was the first for United States President Barack Obama, the first and only summit for Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, and the last summit for British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Political changes in the G8 member nations are likely to affect the composition of the 35th G8 summit. France would like to see China become a full member by the time the 37th G8 summit in 2011 is organized as France will be the host member. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced at the press conference at the end of the second day of the Hokkaido summit that the current number of participants would be maintained when the G8 leaders meet in 2009. Berlusconi also explained that a proposal to expand the G8 to include members of the Group of Five (G8+G5) emerging economies - China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa - had not found sufficient support.
Read more about this topic: 35th G8 Summit
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