The statement follows criticism from international aid groups who say the Group of Eight rich nations have made little progress toward meeting the goal set at the 2005 summit in Scotland of raising aid to the continent by $25 billion per year by 2010.
"We are firmly committed to working to fulfill our commitments on ODA [official development assistance] made at Gleneagles, and reaffirmed at Heiligendamm, including increasing, compared to 2004, with other donors, ODA to Africa by US$25 billion a year by 2010," the statement said.
Africa has been a major focus of talks at the summit, which is taking place at a luxury resort on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States met with the heads of state of seven African countries on Monday.
The leaders also agreed to spend $60 billion on fighting disease in Africa, including measures to stem the spread of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
"We reiterate our commitment to continue efforts, to work towards the goals of providing at least a projected US$60 billion over 5 years, to fight infectious diseases and strengthen health" in Africa, the statement said.
