The 2004 summit of the Group of the Eight (G-8) opened in Savannah in an informal setting in Sea Island, the southeastern US state of Georgia, on Tuesday evening with a social dinner hosted by US President George W. Bush for his seven counterparts from major western industrialized nations and the European Union.  

The three-day annual summit, the 30th of its kind, brings leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Britain and the United States to discuss a wide range of issues such as Iraq, the war on terror and proliferation, with focus on Bush's broader Middle East plan.

The European Union also attends the G-8 summit, represented by Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, and the prime minister of Ireland, which is holding the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Bush will hold bilateral meetings with leaders of Japan, Germany, Russia and Canada respectively on Wednesday.

G-8 leaders would agree to launch many new initiatives "to advance freedom" by strengthening international cooperation, Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser, said Monday.

They are expected to take new actions to promote freedom, democracy and prosperity in the broader Middle East, to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and discuss the war on terror, global peacekeeping efforts, global economy and trade, poverty, health, famine and environment, she said.

Leaders from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen and Turkey are invited to attend the G-8 Summit on Wednesday, with the Iraq issue expected to be core issue.

On Thursday, G-8 leaders will have lunch with African leaders from Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda to discuss topics like famine/food, security, peacekeeping, development and HIV/AIDS.

This year's summit features a keen interest of American officials in inviting journalists to interview US administration officials, on topics ranging from AIDS/HIV to debt relief for African countries, and from the war on terror to international security.

As Bush has designated all summit venues National Security Special Event sites, security for the summit has been particularly tight this year.

Some 20,000 police and security agents were reportedly mobilized to secure the Sea Island, the meeting place for summit, and some of them received anti-terror and anti-riot training one year ago.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has closed the air space within a 65 km radius of Sea Island, and the restriction will remain effective until Friday, June 11, with permission given only to US military planes and helicopters and those flown by law-enforcement agencies.

One of the biggest concerns of the organizers is how to protect the participants from terrorist attacks. US authorities announced last month that terrorists were planning a major attack on the United States this summer with the summit as a possible target.

(Xinhua News Agency June 9, 2004)