Vatican — Leaders of rich nations meeting in Japan should act on the pledges they made to improve the conditions of poor people around the world, the pope has said.

Leaders from Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US are meeting July 7-9 in Hokkaido, Japan, with progress on development and climate change on the agenda.

The summit of the so-called G8 nations is taking place amidst loud calls from the developing world that the rich nations meet their promises to increase aid, write off debts and ensure fair international trade.

"Over recent days", Pope Benedict said on Sunday, "many voices have been raised - among them those of the presidents of episcopal conferences in the countries concerned - to call for implementation of commitments assumed at earlier G8 meetings, and for the courageous adoption of all measures necessary to defeat the scourges of extreme poverty, hunger, disease and illiteracy which still affect such a large part of humankind. I, too, add my voice to this urgent appeal for solidarity!"

Last week, Caritas Internationalis, the umbrella organisation for 162 national Catholic charities, said that the G8 leaders must use their summit in Japan to meet pledges to help developing countries attain the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

"I address myself to participants in the meeting in Hokkaido-Tokyo," the pope said, "that they may focus their deliberations on the needs of the weakest and poorest peoples, whose vulnerability is greater today because of speculation and financial turbulence and their perverse effects on the cost of food and energy. I hope that generosity and farsightedness may help make decisions aimed at re-launching a just process of integral development, in order to safeguard human dignity".