China and India Groomed for Membership

The G8 may be about to open its doors to more states, including China and India, to reflect their growing importance in global affairs.

Canada's prime minister, Paul Martin, floated the idea of a G20 summit, in addition to the annual G8 meeting.

Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, went further and said the leaders were considering inviting China and India into the G8 fold.

"It doesn't make much sense for us to talk about the economy of the future without two countries that are protagonists on the world stage," he said.

Mr Berlusconi said the leaders had discussed the strength and rapid expansion of the Chinese economy, and the fact that it was not constrained by the same labour laws as the west. "But we said we shouldn't be afraid of China, because it is a huge consumer market, and the idea was put forward to call China and India to join the G8, making it the G9 or G10," he said.

The prime minister, Tony Blair, said last night there was "certainly a case for including countries like China and India". He said that the debate was ongoing about the format of the G8.

"We have already begun the process of outreach and I'm sure that will continue."

The leaders' annual three-day summit began in 1975 as a discussion on the world economy among what was then known as the Group of Six. Canada joined and Russia followed as the eighth full member.

A Canadian official said: "The G8 needs to acknowledge that global power and influence are not uniquely in the hands of the G8."

The widening of the group is a common theme for discussions, but Mr Martin held out the possibility of a G20 meeting as early as next year.

"Canada's idea is gaining a lot of support," he said. "Could it be done at the beginning of next year? I think so. The possibility is improving."

The agenda of the meeting has widened considerably to take in more geopolitical issues.

The focus of this year's summit, which ended yesterday, was the US-led broader Middle East initiative to foster democracy in the region.

In recent years, the G8 has sought to shed its image of being a rich club by inviting leaders of poorer countries to attend some sessions.

This year leaders of Arab states including the interim Iraqi president, Ayad Allawi, attended to discuss policies in the Middle East.

A group of dignitaries from African states also joined the group for a lunch meeting yesterday to discuss issues including the fight against Aids, poverty and trade.

The next international summit of world leaders to be held later this month is proving to be a security headache. Turkey's Bosphorus strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, will be closed during the Nato summit in Istanbul on June 28 and 29.

George Bush, Tony Blair and nearly 40 other leaders are due to attend the talks in the city which was hit by four bombings linked to al-Qaida last year.

Turkey will deploy at least 30,000 police and will cordon off much of central Istanbul for the summit.

The discussion points are expected to include Afghanistan, Iraq and the fight against terrorism.