Business

Fri Jun 13 03:25:45 PDT 2008

TOKYO, June 13 (Reuters) – Finance ministers from the Group of Eight (G8) rich nations will discuss the global economy, soaring oil and food prices, and challenges from climate change in meetings in Osaka, Japan, on Friday and Saturday.

The meeting is to prepare for the G8 leaders’ summit in July.

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

Following is a schedule of events announced by Japan’s Ministry of Finance, which is chairing the meetings, and other ministries (all times in GMT):

FRIDAY, JUNE 13

0600 — Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga to hold a bilateral meeting with Australian Treasurer Wayne Swan

0630 — Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga to hold a bilateral meeting with IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn

0700 — Japanese finance minister to hold a bilateral meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson

0725 — Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga to hold a news conference

0745-0815 — A joint news conference by finance ministers from Japan, Britain and the United States and World Bank President Robert Zoellick on climate investment funds.

1000-1200 — G8 finance ministers to hold an "outreach" dinner session with non-G8 members. It will be attended by representatives from Australia, Thailand, Brazil, China, South Korea, South Africa, the European Commission, the European Union chair (Slovenia), and heads of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the Financial Stability Forum (FSF). They will discuss how rising food and commodity prices affect the global economic outlook.

SATURDAY, JUNE 14

2245 (Friday)-0015 — G8 finance ministers to hold an outreach breakfast session to discuss climate change. It will be attended by the same participants as the dinner session except for the FSF.

0030-0345 — G8 finance ministers’ meeting.

0430-0500 — News conference by the chairman

(Japan)

of the G8 finance ministers’ meeting, followed by news conferences by other G8 finance ministers.

Provided by Reuters

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