While U.S President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned the threat of another terrorist attack still looms, leaders at the Group of Eight summit agreed to spend $30 billion to destroy weapons of mass destruction.
On the first day of meetings in the secluded Rocky Mountain resort of Kananaskis, Prime Minister Jean Chretien said G-8 leaders had agreed to a U.S. plan for a 10-year program to clean up materials that could be used for nuclear and biological weapons in the former Soviet Union.
Chretien told reporters he had talked with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the matter earlier in the week and a deal was nearing completion. A definitive agreement is expected before the summit wraps up today.
"I think we have a text that will work," Chretien said.
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was more concrete, saying a deal was struck that would see the U.S. pay for half of the $30-billion program, with the balance coming from the European Union and other G-8 countries.
"We agreed on the funds for the destruction of nuclear, biological and chemical armaments in the Russian federation and other countries that used to belong to the Soviet Union," Berlusconi said.
"The question of arsenals that could fall into the hands of evil-minded states interests all mankind and the decision (on the fund) was agreed by everyone almost without debate."
Western military experts are worried that poor security at Russian atomic sites makes them vulnerable to terrorist groups.
The G-8 also committed to improved education for the world's poorest children.
The much-anticipated education agreement does not mention how much money the governments of Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia and the United States are willing to commit to their objective of ensuring that all of the world's children have access to complete and free primary education by 2015.
The World Bank has estimated such a program would require new spending of between $15 billion and $23 billion annually.
More than 100 million school-age children are not in school, most of them in Africa and most of them girls. Twenty-five per cent of the world's population completes less than five years of basic education and nearly one billion adults are illiterate.
The G-8 plan calls on developing countries to create sound national education programs with sufficient resources to deal with AIDS-affected children, working children, children with special needs and children affected by conflict.
Talks between the eight world leaders Wednesday touched on a number of other issues, from the state of the global economy to the controversial new U.S. peace plan for the Middle East.
The countries also agreed to spend another $1 billion on debt relief for poor countries.
Terrorism has loomed as a central issue at the summit and the countries announced a series of measures designed to bolster transportation security.
At Kananaskis, security remained heavy, with thousands of soldiers and police officers -- supported by helicopters, tanks and CF-18 fighters -- securing the site 90 kilometres west of Calgary.
In a separate meeting early in the day, Blair and Bush said terrorist organizations remain a dangerous enemy.
"Our countries are still under great threat, but we're making good progress. This is a different kind of war," Bush said.
Sitting at his side, the British prime minister said progress has been made during the war in Afghanistan, but more must be done.
"This threat is not over yet," Blair said. "We have to make sure that in every single battle we carry this fight on -- and it will take a long time."
Leaders of the world's richest countries are meeting in the first full summit since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks against New York and Washington, D.C., and the ensuing war in Afghanistan by a coalition of U.S. allies.
They released a new report designed to counter global terrorism, calling for measures to reinforce flight deck doors in passenger airliners, increase security for ship containers and standardize flight passenger information.
However, the thorny issue of Iraq and U.S. efforts to gain support for action to overthrow Saddam Hussein wasn't broached, Chretien said.
It remains to be seen where the war on terrorism will turn next. Bush said he would continue to pressure Arab states -- particularly Syria and Lebanon -- to denounce terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, working with his allies to cut off the flow of money to such organizations.
In October, G-8 countries adopted a plan that has already frozen $176 million in assets of terrorist groups in more than 160 countries.
For Canada, securing the 6,400-kilometre border has taken on critical importance in the $3-billion a day trading relationship with the United States.
U.S. politicians have often criticized Canada's immigration policy, which they say is lax on illegal immigrants and allows suspected terrorists into North America.
Ottawa responded by spending $1.8 billion for border infrastructure and security measures in last December's budget.
Deputy Prime Minister John Manley is expected to meet U.S. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge this week to discuss security issues and the 30-point "smart border" program created after Sept. 11.
It would be a "hell of an achievement" to get a deal on funding the decommission of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, said David Rudd, executive director of the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies.
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