G8: G14 to become regular fixture

(ANSA) - L'Aquila, July 9 - Leaders from the G14 - the Group of Eight (G8) and the G5 countries (China, India, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa) and Egypt - decided on Thursday that their meeting would become a regular fixture at the annual G8 summits, diplomatic sources in L'Aquila said. Italy has made much of the expanded nature of this year's G8 summit in the quake-hit city of L'Aquila, which is being attended by 39 countries and international organisations representing 90% of the world's economy - compared to 50% represented by G8 countries alone. The issue of permanently converting the G8 format into a more inclusive affair had been expected because a number of leaders had voiced support for the idea. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed interest in a G20 format, saying this would represent a changing global reality and the rising number of worldwide issues, such as the economic downturn and climate change. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, however, said this would make the event unwieldy, saying a G14 summit would be more manageable and effective. French President Nicolas Sarkozy had also expressed appreciation for the G14 framework, saying that ''discussing the world's problems without China, Mexico, India, South Africa and Brazil is unreasonable''. The G20 is the G14 plus Colombia, Australia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia and South Korea, while the 20th member is the European Union, represented by the country which holds the rotating presidency.