The final day of the G8 summit in L'Aquila was devoted to world hunger.

The financial crisis has led to a sharp increase in the number of people suffering from food shortages. African leaders were also in attendance today. G8 countries have agreed to invest 20 billion dollars in African agriculture development.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is disappointed with how the G8 countries have dealt with the issue of climate change. The eight major industrial powers agreed on Wednesday that a rise in global temperature should not exceed more than two degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrialisation levels. Ban Ki-moon says the G8 passed up a "unique opportunity" to formulate a midterm target for 2020. He also thinks that the G8 should have done more to define methods for minimising the temperature rise.

World trade was the focus of Thursday's talks. The G8, along with emerging economic powers China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Egypt, promised to remain dedicated to a speedy completion of the Doha round of talks on free trade which began in 2001. Their goal is to reach an agreement on the abolition of international trade barriers by next year.

photo courtesy of ANP