The G8 reaffirmed its commitment to the freedom of investment, and urged efforts to promote an open investment environment in industrialized nations and emerging economies, according to a G8 summit declaration published on the official website of the annual event.

"We reaffirm that freedom of investment is a crucial pillar of economic growth, prosperity and employment," it said.

Meanwhile, the group of the world's leading economic powers promised to help achieve greater benefits from and sustainability of foreign direct investments (FDI) for developing countries.

It also pledged efforts to promote and strengthen corporate and other forms of social responsibility concerning the freedom of investment.

The ongoing G8 summit opened Wednesday evening in the German Baltic resort of Heiligendamm, and concludes on Friday.

The G8 gathers Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.

"We call on all developed countries, major emerging economies and others to critically assess their investment policies, the potential costs incurred from unnecessarily restrictive or arbitrary policies and the economic benefits of open investment regimes," the G8 said in the declaration.

It urged the emerging economies to adopt the OECD Declaration on International Investment and Multinational Enterprises, and invited the major emerging economies to participate in a structured high level dialogue on investment conditions in industrialized countries and emerging economies as part of the Heiligendamm Process.

The Heiligendamm process is a German initiative aiming at integrating emerging economies better into the existing framework to find common solutions to global challenges.