World leaders are expected to pledge 10 to 15 billion U.S. dollars to help feed the poorest people in the developing countries at a summit this week, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said on Tuesday.
"We hope to approve an initiative for food security in the world. We will approve about 10 to 15 billion U.S. dollars for all the people in the world who are suffering from hunger," the Italian premier told a news conference.
Leaders from the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations are due to start a three-day summit on Wednesday, who will be joined by their counterparts from emerging economies and other developing countries on the last day to discuss the food security problem.
The aid will be pledged under a new initiative on food security, which Berlusconi called the "L'Aquila Food Security Initiative" since the summit is to be held in the central Italian city of L' Aquila.
A draft declaration to be discussed by the leaders gave a figure of 15 billion U.S. dollars, saying that the United States is ready to provide 3 to 4 billion U.S. dollars to the initiative if others can contribute the rest.