UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said Saturday in Banjul that he would press the Group of Eight (G8) leaders when they meet in Russia later this month to honor the commitments they pledged to Africa last year.

"When I attend this year's Group of Eight Summit in Petersburg two weeks from now, I shall press the leaders to further follow through on their commitments to Africa," said Annan at the opening ceremony of the biannual African Union summit.

Annan said that he would urge the G8 leaders to take "bold measures" to help ensure the Doha round of World Trade Organization talks succeeds and truly benefits African countries.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair acknowledged last Monday that key Group of Eight commitments to help Africa have not been met, and said he appointed Annan to lead a panel monitoring progress toward the goals.

The G8 leaders agreed at Gleneagles summit held last year in Britain that aid for all developing countries will increase by around 50 billion U.S. dollars per year by 2010, of which at least half of them for Africa. They also agreed to cancel all debts owed by eligible heavily indebted poor countries to the International Development Association, the International Monetary Fund and the African Development Fund.

Source: Xinhua