Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group on Financial Crisis Follow-up

By its resolution 63/305 of 11 August 2009, the General Assembly established an ad hoc open-ended working group to follow up on the issues contained in the Outcome of the Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development. The Co-Chairs of the Working Group (Ambassador Morten Wetland of Norway and Ambassador Lazarous Kapambwe of Zambia), in consultation with all regional groups and key stakeholders, organized a series of six substantive meetings of the Group from April to June 2010. The outcome of these meetings will be included in a report of the Working Group, to be presented by the Co-Chairs to the President of the 64th General Assembly.

High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development

In accordance with its decision 64/551 of 23 February 2010, the General Assembly held its fourth High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development on 23 and 24 March 2010 at UN Headquarters. Pursuant to resolution 64/194 of 21 December 2009, the overall theme of the Dialogue was “The Monterrey Consensus and Doha Declaration on Financing for Development: status of implementation and tasks ahead”. The two day event included a series of plenary and informal meetings. Plenary meetings took place on the first day (morning and afternoon) and the second day (morning) of the Dialogue. On the second day, there were also three round tables (morning) and an interactive dialogue (afternoon), as follows:

Round table 1: “The reform of the international monetary and financial system and its implications for development”;
Round table 2: “The impact of the current financial and economic crisis on foreign direct investment and other private flows, external debt and international trade”;
Round table 3: “The role of financial and technical development cooperation, including innovative sources of development finance, in leveraging the mobilization of domestic and international financial resources for development”;
Informal interactive dialogue: “The link between financing for development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals: the road to the 2010 high-level event”.

The meeting has resulted in a summary by the President of the General Assembly as an input to the preparation of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on MDGs (New York, 20-22 September 2010).

Special meeting of ECOSOC with BWIs, WTO & UNCTAD

Pursuant to ECOSOC resolution 2009/30 of 31 July 2009, the Special high-level meeting of ECOSOC with Bretton Woods institutions, World Trade Organization and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was held on 18 and 19 March 2010 at UN Headquarters. The overall theme was “Building on Monterrey and Doha: towards achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals”. Following a short opening plenary, with brief statements by relevant intergovermental representatives, the meeting consisted of three thematic debates, as follows:

Thematic debate 1: “Mobilizing domestic and international resources to fund existing and emerging MDG implementation gaps”;
Thematic debate 2: “Supporting rehabilitation, recovery and development efforts of developing countries with special needs and those facing humanitarian emergency situations”;
Thematic debate 3: “Enhancing coherence and consistency of the international monetary, financial and trading systems in support of development”.

The thematic debates were held consecutively in an informal setting of the whole, in order to facilitate a dynamic and interactive dialogue and to promote an open exchange of views and experiences among all stakeholders, including civil society and the business sector.

The meeting has resulted in a summary by the President of ECOSOC as a substantive input to the preparation of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on MDGs (New York, 20-22 September 2010).

Multi-stakeholder Consultations

Pursuant to the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development, the Financing for Development Office (FfDO) organized multi-stakeholder consultations on:

Multi-stakeholder consultations section »

Calendar of Events

UPCOMING events

28 June-22 July 2010, New YorkECOSOC substantive session

Past events

View all FfD Events »

Doha Review Conference

The Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus (Doha, Qatar, 29 November - 2 December 2008) resulted in the adoption by consensus of the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development. Officials from more than 160 countries, including nearly 40 Heads of State or Government, attended the four day conference. The Doha Declaration reaffirmed UN Photo/Eskinder Debebethe Monterrey Consensus and called for a United Nations conference at the highest level on the world financial and economic crisis and its impact on development.

Doha Declaration

Report of Doha
Conference (A/CONF.212/7)

Doha Review Conference site »

Financial Crisis Summit

By its resolution 63/303 of 9 July 2009, the General Assembly endorsed the Outcome of the Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on Development, held in New York from 24 to 30 June 2009. The 59-paragraph document sets forth a global consensus on the causes, impacts and responses to the current crisis; prioritizes the prompt, decisive and coordinated actions that are required; and defines a clear role for the United Nations.