G8 should fulfill pledges

As leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations wrapped up a two-day summit in Deauville, France, they made new promises of billions of dollars for Arab states in support of their political transition and growth efforts.

However, considering the poor record of the G8 in fulfilling its international aid promises over the past years, it is debatable whether the huge sum will be delivered in time and in full.

At the 2005 Gleneagles G8 meeting, the group promised an extra $50 billion to the poorest countries to help fight poverty and disease, with about $30 billion of that to go to Africa by 2010. But according to the assessment by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the development aid of G8 in 2010 was $19 billion short of the 2005 targets.