Tony Blair has welcomed progress made by the world's richest nations to address the problems of the African continent.

Although the G8 summit at Evian was dominated by attempts to heal divisions in the international community, the prime minister said that important progress had been made on a number of other topics.

Hailing the "significant contributions" the summit had made to international debate, the prime minister unveiled plans to redouble efforts to target global poverty and the health crises that have affected the African continent.

Following the lead of President Bush, the summit discussed plans to address the problem of HIV/AIDs which currently afflicts 42 million people around the world.

The US has announced a $15 billion investment programme to target the disease, and the prime minister urged European ministers to follow suit:

"I hope at the European Summit in Thessalonika the EU will agree to match the US commitment to the Global Health Fund, potentially up to $1 billion a year."

Speaking on the economic development of the African continent, Blair called for the European Union to address the divisive issue of farm subsidies to allow African producers to compete fairly in world markets."The wealthy nations of the world simply cannot any longer ask the developing world to stand on its own feet but shut out the very access to our markets necessary for them to do so," he said.

"Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy will be vital in this regard."

Critics of the summit argue that few concrete proposals were endorsed to address the problem of African poverty. Oxfam spokesman Justin Forsyth claimed the summit conclusions were little more than "recycling" of old goals.

"When the history of the war on poverty is written in years to come, the Evian Summit won't even merit a footnote," he said.

However, the prime minister said that as well as increased aid to Africa, the summit also agreed to consider Gordon Brown's plans to establish an International Finance Facility to boost aid for reforming governments.

The summit leaders were unanimous in their condemnation of Robert Mugabe, calling for "the Zimbabwean government to accept its citizens' right to demonstrate against the regime peacefully."

When questioned further on the issue by the Conservatives, the prime minister acknowledged the limitations of sanctions against the regime and called for increased support from Zimbabwe's neighbours, saying the regime would "blight and destroy the lives of people all over Southern Africa".

Plans to force companies in the extractives industry to make public the tax and royalty payments they make to governments were unveiled as another weapon in increasing the pressure on the Mugabe regime.

Questioned on the new drought crisis in Ethiopia, Blair said the government had urged the European commission to act as soon as possible, and pledged £48 million in emergency funding.

Quizzed on growing ethnic tensions in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the prime minister acknowledged that British forces could be used in a "logistical and support" role in the region, but said that plans to train and equip African forces to deal with peacekeeping missions should be encouraged in order to address future crises.