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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 08/05
The G8 Global Partnership: Background and Current Status
Cristina Chuen
April 2005
Abstract
The Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction is nearly three years old. While the initiative—launched on June 27, 2002, at the G8 annual summit in Kananaskis, Canadai— brought new donors to the table and added a new sense of urgency to nonproliferation projects in Russia, to date the programs have yielded mixed results. There is much that remains to be done if the next seven years are going to fulfill the promise of Kananaskis.
The partnership committed the G7 to raising up to $20 billion over 10 years to fund nonproliferation projects and launched a new phase in cooperative nonproliferation. Vastly increased amounts of funding were promised by new and old donors alike, along with a commitment by both Russia and its partners to facilitate nonproliferation projects. The partnership built on the foundation of the earlier programs; indeed, the United States promised to contribute half of the Global Partnership funds, counting ongoing efforts as part of their partnership work. The other half of the partnership funds, however, were to be largely new commitments, from the other G7 nations as well as other possible future donors. Since Kananaskis, total pledges have reached nearly $18 billion.ii New program priorities have been identified and substantial progress has been made in some of these new areas. Twelve new countries have joined the partnership, legal bases for project implementation have been adopted by several nations, and new mechanisms have been developed to coordinate assistance.
