G-8 (Group of Eight) leaders will launch many new initiatives at their three-day upcoming summit that begins in Savannah, Georgia on Tuesday, Condoleezza Rice, the US president's national security adviser, said Monday.  

The leaders from the eight countries have a full agenda and will agree to launch many new initiatives "to advance freedom" by strengthening international cooperation, she said at an overall briefing.

The leaders are expected to take new action to promote freedom, democracy and prosperity in the broader Middle East, to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, she said.

Also on the agenda of leaders from the eight industrialized nations the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Japan, Italy, Russia, Canada are the war on terror, global peacekeeping efforts, global economy and trade, poverty, health, famine and environment, she said.

The G-8 leaders will also meet with leaders from countries including Bahrain, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen, on US President George W. Bush's broader Middle East initiative and developments in the region, and meet with leaders from such African nations as Algeria, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria and Uganda, she said.

New Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawar will also be present at the summit, Rice said.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2004)