World leaders turn their attention to the global economy and the fight against terror today at the G8 summit in Evian, France.
After their smiles and handshakes for the cameras, French President Jacques Chirac and US President George W. Bush hold their first one-one-one talks since their damaging feud over the Iraq war, with tensions still lingering over the new world order.
The global fight against terror, arms proliferation and regional conflicts in Iraq, the Middle East and North Korea were to top a full agenda for the second day of the Group of Eight summit, which opened yesterday in the French spa resort.
But a boatride away across Lake Geneva, Switzerland was facing a clean-up operation after a night of clashes between riot police and anti-globalisation protestors.
After a day devoted to discussions with leaders from emerging and developing states, focusing on AIDS and boosting aid to the poor, the G8 today sat down for talks on the global economy, with world markets watching for any comment on the dollar's sharp fall.
But a source close to the G8 said the leaders will make no mention of exchange rates in the final communique.
The dollar's drop has caused deep concern in the euro zone and Japan, where the corresponding appreciation of the euro and the yen is seen as a threat to exports and to the overall momentum of economic growth.
In Tokyo the euro was trading at 1.1736 dollars, down from its all-time high last week of 1.1914 dollars.
But efforts by the G8 partners to repair relationships badly damaged over Iraq - especially ties between the United States and France - remained the overriding theme of the summit and looked likely to dominate today's events.
Mr Chirac, whose steadfast opposition to the Iraq war infuriated Mr Bush, shook hands briefly with the US leader after he set foot on French soil for the first time since the crisis erupted, with both smiling for the cameras.
The French leader told reporters not to believe everything they hear about troubled transatlantic ties, characterising his exchanges with Mr Bush yesterday as "very positive".
Controversy is raging over the failure to find evidence that Saddam Hussein's regime had weapons of mass destruction, the key justification for the US-led invasion of Iraq. A British spokesman said G8 leaders would issue a declaration on terrorism and curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
The US president will however leave Evian just after lunch today , travelling to the Middle East for two high-profile summits on the peace process that threatened to upstage the G8 gathering.
Beyond the continuing debate over Iraq, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States were due to debate prospects for sparking a sustainable global economic recovery.
AFP