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The Foreign Ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan are also expected to attend in the afternoon. The G8 wants to support cooperation between these two countries, particularly with regard to improving border security, resolving the refugee problem and developing the border region.
The rule of law is a major concern of the G8 Foreign Ministers that goes beyond national or regional boundaries. The focus is on the importance of the rule of law for transnational commerce and sustainable development and as an element of conflict-prevention and post-conflict strategies.
A specialist conference on this subject involving representatives of civil society and international players is to be held sometime during the second half of this year.
The G8 Foreign Ministers will meet again in November under the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative (BMENA) to discuss the strengthening of development and reform in the Near and Middle East.
Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier intends to make another important foreign and security policy topic – energy security – the subject of a conference of the G8 Foreign Ministers and the Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Mexico, India, China and South Africa; this conference will be held in December.
Since 1998 the G8 Foreign Ministers have met at a different time and in a different place from the Heads of State and Government. This so-called G8 Foreign Ministers Process has since taken on an increasingly independent role.