Over 70 representatives from key international bodies and UN member states on Wednesday concluded a two-day gathering at the UN headquarte r s in New York, US, which focused on ways to secure development resources for poo r countries amid the current economic crisis.
The conference, tagged: “High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development”, was the fourth of its kind held by the UN General Assembly since 2002.
The theme of the event was: “The Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration on Fin ancing for Development: Status of Implementation and Tasks Ahead”.
In his concluding message, UN General Assembly President Abdusalam Treki noted t hat, “member states and other stakeholders of the financing for development proc e ss have engaged in a truly interactive dialogue in the spirit of the Monterry Co n sensus and Doha Declaration on financing for development.
“This meeting is particularly important as it is taking place in the run-up to t he September summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),” he said.
He also stated that, “the ideas, initiatives, recommendations put forward during the past two days will serve as important and substantive input to preparations
for a more meaningful and actionable high-level event on MDGs in September.”
The High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the Millennium Develop ment Goals (MDGS) is scheduled to be held at the UN headquarters in New York fro m 20 to 22 September.
The Pan African News Agency (PANA) reported that senior officials from the UN, t he World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organisati o n (WTO) and other key relevant agencies as well as delegates from member states a ttended the meeting.
During the past two days, participants engaged in plenary meetings, multi-stakeh older roundtables and an informal interactive dialogue to discuss the implementa t ion of the Monterrey Consensus.
The Monterrey Consensus is a milestone document that calls for a development par tnership between developing and developed countries and to explore ways to respo n d to the impacts of the economic crisis.
Many speakers from developing countries stressed the crucial need for the fulfil ment of official development assistance commitments, as well as for debt relief a nd fair trade policies.
While acknowledging their responsibility for their own development, they appeale d for “a strong and enabling international environment, with genuine internation a l partnership.”
Speakers from the industrialized world, including the European Union, stressed t he importance of private investments, saying the private sectors of partner coun t ries and the mobilization of domestic resources remained among the best formulas
to increase assets for development in a sustainable manner.
