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Lyon Summit Summary

Released by the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, June 16, 1997

Leaders at the Lyon summit agreed to step up the fight against terrorism, and announced additional debt relief initiative for highly-indebted poor countries (HIPC) that covers debt to the IFIs for the first time. They took steps to reinforce international cooperation and G-7 surveillance of currency markets and urged additional UN reform. As part of the Summit's Global Partnership for Development, the heads of the UN, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and World Trade Organization, met in a special session with the Leaders to discuss aid and trade issues.

G-7 Economic Accomplishments

• Announced a Global Partnership for Development between developed and developing countries, and multilateral institutions, based on developing countries' accepting responsibility for promoting their own development, and noting developed countries must support those efforts.
• Declared aid would go to countries needing it most and able to use it effectively for sustainable development and poverty alleviation.
• Agreed to work to improve developing country access to Summit country markets.
• Agreed to a debt relief initiative providing additonal relief for those highly indebted poor countries (HIPC) demonstrating a sustained commitment to economic reform including, for the first time, debt to multilateral institutions and donors not part of the Paris Club.
• Reaffirmed Halifax commitment to promote financial market stability through more effective G-7 macro-economic surveillance, continued G-7 cooperation in exchange markets, better prudential safeguards, and strengthened G-7 ability to respond to crises.
• Supported broadening the WTO ministerial agenda to include discussion of competition policy, core labor standards, national standards and international norms, and mutual recognition of testing and certification, and enforcement of intellectual property disciplines.
• Resolved to combat corruption in international business transactions.
• Discussed ways to improve employment opportunities in Summit country economies.
• Outlined specific areas for UN reform.
• Urged greater cooperation and coordination between UN agencies, international financial institutions and the WTO.

Political accomplishments

• Condemned terrorism and agreed to a ministerial meeting to determine further actions.
• Supported Dayton Peace Agreement and insisted on the immediate resignation of Bosnian Republika Srpska President Radovan Karadzic.
• Affirmed undertaking to conclude a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
• Underlined importance of negotiations toward a ban on production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices, and of efforts to ban production, use and export of anti-personnel landmines.
• Reiterated importance of entry into force of the Convention on Chemical Weapons, and implementation of Convention on Prohibition of Biological and Toxin Weapons.
• Reaffirmed need to strengthen measures to ensure nuclear material accounting, control and physical protection. Acknowledged need to identify strategies for management of fissile material no longer required for defense purposes.
• Called for strong action on the environment, including:
  1. implementation of Convention on Biological Diversity and Convention on Desertification;
  2. negotiating a legally binding instrument on particular persistant organic pollutants; and
  3. actions to promote sustainable forest management.
  4. greater effectiveness of international institutions responsible for environment and sustainable development.
• Underlined importance of the role of information and communications technology in sustainable development.
• Endorsed creation of a mechanism to aid in prevention, detection, surveillance and response to infectious diseases.
• Endorsed forty recommendations of the experts' group at fighting transnational organized crime.

Regional situations

• Supported economic and political transition in Central and Eastern Europe, including possible EU enlargement.
• Welcomed achievements in the Middle East Peace process, and urged further progress.
• Called on Iran to reject terrorism, halt assistance to extremist groups and desist from threats on Salman Rushdie.
• Reaffirmed determination to fully implement UN Security Council resolutions concerning Iraq and Libya, and welcomed the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Iraq and the Secretariat of the UN on implementation of Security Council resolution 986.
• Urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to pursue dialogue and cooperation with the Republic of Korea so as to achieve a permanent peace, and asked for international political and financial support for the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization.

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