Step up pressure on G8 leaders, say Bono, Bob Geldof

Jul 6, 2005, 20:09 GMT

Edinburgh - Rock stars and anti-poverty advocates Bono and Bob Geldof on Wednesday urged people to step up calls for an increase in aid to Africa, saying G8 leaders meeting in Scotland could still be swayed by popular demands.

"It is so important that people make one last push," U2 lead singer Bono told reporters at a Group of Eight (G8) summit at the posh Gleneagles golf resort.

G8 members include the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Russia.

Rich countries' leaders even in the last 24 hours must hear from their constituents, Bono underlined, adding that the G8 summit could still be pressured into promising an increase in rich nations' annual aid commitment to 50 billion dollars.

Geldof, who is holding an eleventh-hour "Final Push" rock concert in Edinburgh later Wednesday to campaign for more aid, trade and debt relief measures for Africa, said British Prime Minister and summit host Tony Blair faced "hard pounding ahead" to clinch key deals.

Bono, who met German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder along with Geldof, said the German leader appeared ready to increase his country's national development assistance to 0.7 per cent of Gross National Income but faced domestic difficulties in agreeing such a figure.

Schroeder also backed French calls for a special tax on international airline flights to finance African development "but this will probably make his life difficult in Germany unless all the Germans get out and say this is more important to us," said Geldof.