Amid mounting criticism that the Group of Eight has outlived its usefulness, many say the annual meeting of the world's richest democracies will continue to play a significant part on the global stage.
"I have never been at a summit where leaders seemed to more deeply feel the necessity of common action and common purpose," Canadian Prime Minister Harper told reporters after the conclusion of the G8 meetings in rural Huntsville, Ontario.
''The G20 has done a magnificent job in the last year and a half it's been around and has been tackling the economic crisis,'' said Harper. ''But there are, quite frankly, limits to what you can discuss and what you can achieve in a group of 20... the G8 is a pretty essential organization going forward."
In its final communique from the Huntsville meeting, the group committed to a 2011 gathering hosted by France.
Following the summit, the leaders of the G8 nations - the US, Canada, France, Russia, Italy, Japan, Germany and the UK - traveled south a few hours by car to Toronto for the larger, more inclusive G20 meeting.
The events were held together for the first time, fulfilling expectations the G8 would shift to being a key prelude to G20.
Experts on hand at the G8/G20 Summit International Media Centre agreed that reports of the G8's demise have been greatly exaggerated.
"Clearly we've seen that the G8 has been able to reach decisions on issues in recent years that that couldn't be made within a broader group such as the G20," said Ella Kokotsis from the G8 Research Group. "On things like political security issues, the G8 is still the name of the game."
At the meeting that wrapped up yesterday, the G8 held North Korea responsible for the recent sinking of South Korea's navel vessel, the Cheonan, and demanded that North Korea refrain from committing any attacks or threatening hostilities against its neighbor.
The group also urged Afghanistan to begin preparations for the promised draw down in US troops that is expected to begin next summer. Hamad Karzai's government will be asked to demonstrate next month the capacity to secure the war-torn nation against the resurgent Taliban.
While the G8's security statements were forceful, leading environmental advocacy groups were already blasting the group for not putting forward new initiatives on climate change.
"I see no leadership here — the G8 has failed again," said Greenpeace International executive director Kumi Naidoo in a release.
Meanwhile, the G8 pledged $5 billion for maternal and child health projects in Africa.
Anti-poverty groups at the G8/G20 are calling the sum inadequate, and blasting the G8 for failing to live up to funding promises made at Gleneagles in 2005.
"We came here hopeful, with the summit's leadership putting the world's children and mothers on the G8 agenda, and talk of committing new resources to save their lives," said Robert Zachritz, director of government relations for World Vision U.S. "But the Muskoka Initiative looks more like a down payment than an adequate investment, and won't reach as far as it must to stop needless deaths."
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