The German Chancellor Angela Merkel answered that she appreciates the Pope’s commitment and illustrated the intentions of the German chairmanship of the G8, including giving priority to the "economic development" of Africa, to the "issues of good government as well as to the aspects of peace and security”. As to the fight against Hiv/Aids, she announced the goal of "changing the fighting strategies” to "take into special account the condition of women and girls”. As to the transparency of the finance and raw materials markets, the German chair intends to focus its efforts in particular on "enhancing and strengthening" the Eiti initiative (“Extraction industries transparency initiative”). As to foreign debt, to put into practice the commitments undertaken in Gleneagles, she "guaranteed that Germany will contribute 3.6 billion euros overall" and "will establish a debt sustainability framework” to "minimise the risk of the poorer countries getting into any further debt”. In addition, chairing the EU and the G8 will also be helpful, concludes Merkel, to "carry on dialogue with the emerging countries", such as Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South-Africa, about the solution of "such global problems as energy supplies, climate change and the use of raw materials”.
