The Group of Eight summit is a "make or break moment" for hopes of alleviating world poverty in the coming decade, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Wednesday. In a speech prepared for delivery at St. Paul's Cathedral in London, Annan said G-8 leaders need to muster the political will to more than double development aid and dismantle trade barriers. The G-8, along with a "world summit" in New York in September and the World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong in December are critical moments in implementing the Millennium Development Goals unanimously agreed by U.N. members five years ago, he was quoted as saying by The Associated Press. "This is a make-or-break moment for the Millennium Development Goals, and for the world's poor," Annan said. "You know that how we fare for the next 10 years hinges on decisions that must be taken in the next days and months."
