The annual summit of the Group of Eight (G8) opened in the Scottish resort of Gleneagles on Thursday with aid to Africa and climate change topping the agenda.

After their first working session, G8 leaders will hold dialogue (8+5 Dialogue) with five developing countries, namely, China, India, Mexico, Brazil and South Africa, later Thursday.

Major topics of the 8+5 Dialogue are expected to be the global economy and how to deal with climate change.

G8 leaders are also scheduled to hold talks on Friday with leaders from African countries including Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania, with debt- cancellation and aid to Africa as the major topics.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz are also invited to participate in the meeting.

The G8 consists of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States and Russia.

Source: Xinhua