LONDON (AFP) — Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Sunday he wanted "concrete action" on lifting people out of poverty at the G8 summit in Japan this week.
Brown said the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations had a responsibility to help the world's poorest people.
The leaders of the G8 -- Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Russia and the United States -- start three days of annual talks on Monday, in the northern Japanese mountain resort town of Toyako.
Earlier Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI called on the Group of Eight leaders to focus on the needs of the world's poorest and most vulnerable.
In a statement released in London, Brown said: "The G8, as the richest nations, have a responsibility to deliver on the promises they have made to the world's poor.
"His Holiness has today spoken of the need for the world to act to lift people from the most grinding poverty.
"This week, at the G8, I am determined to see concrete action taken. We will then carry this momentum forward to the UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals in September."
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