THE
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT
Financing for Development: A critical
global collaboration
“In the Millennium
Declaration, the heads of state and government adopted many good
resolutions and set many targets, for combating poverty, ignorance and
disease. But none of those targets can be achieved unless there is real
development throughout the world, especially in the poorest countries. And
development cannot happen without resources, especially financial
resources.”
Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, New York press conference (15 December 2000)
To meet the long-term
imperative of eradicating poverty and fulfilling the social and
humanitarian goals set by global conferences of the 1990s, the
United Nations is convening a meeting of financial policy makers to
set an agenda on national, international and systemic issues
relating to financing for development. The International Conference
on Financing for Development (FfD) — to take place in Monterrey,
Mexico, 18-22 March 2002 — and its preparatory process will look
at development through the perspective of finance, addressing
relevant “national, international and systemic” issues and
seeking means to ensure sufficient financing for vigorous global
development.
Concern about “the
obstacles developing countries face in mobilizing resources needed
to finance their sustained development” was voiced in September
2000 by world leaders at the UN Millennium Assembly. In their
Millennium Declaration, the pledged that “we will therefore make
every effort to ensure the success of the high-level international
and intergovernmental global meeting on Financing for
Development.”
Participation of the
leading finance, trade and development institutions
An unprecedented feature
of the FfD process is General Assembly-mandated collaboration of the
United Nations with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO), at the levels of
staff and governmental representatives to the organizations. Also
participating are the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD),
the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the five UN regional economic
commissions and other relevant international organizations, and of
representatives from civil society and the world of private finance.
Agenda
The provisional agenda
of the Conference covers six main themes:
o mobilizing
domestic financial resources for development;
o mobilizing
foreign direct investment and other private capital flows;
o international
trade;
o international
financial cooperation and official development assistance, and new
and innovative sources
of resource mobilization;
o debt relief;
and
o systemic
issues, such as the coherence and consistency of the international
monetary, financial
and trading systems.
The intention of the
General Assembly is that all aspects of financing for development be
considered in a coherent and integrated fashion, as perhaps has not
had been done by the United Nations over a long time.
FfD Preparatory
Committee
A Preparatory Committee
was established by the General Assembly early in 2000. Under the
auspices of the 15-country Bureau of the Preparatory Committee,
regular intergovernmental interactions with the IMF, WTO and World
Bank have been implemented. Secretariat support for the PrepCom is
being led by a Coordinating Secretariat located within the UN
Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with the active
involvement and contributions of the World Bank, UNDP, UNCTAD and
the other international institutions mentioned above.
The Preparatory
Committee met in 2001 from 12 to 23 February and from 30 April to 11
May. It reconvenes on 15 October amd again in January 2002. The
Preparatory Committee is charged with presenting proposals for
consideration at the final, high-level meeting in Monterrey.
Other input
Two sets of key
“hearings” were held at UN Headquarters late in 2000.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations took part in
Non-Governmental Organization Hearings on 6 and 7 November, briefing
the Preparatory Committee on their views on key globalization and
FfD-related issues. And at Business Hearings held 11 and 12
December, senior executives from banks, investment management
companies, multinational corporations and small exterprises from
both developed and developing countries presented views on factors
influencing mobilization of domestic and international financial
flows.
Five regional FfD
meetings were held in 2000 — in Jakarta, 4-6 August; Addis Ababa,
21-23 November; Bogotá, 9-10 November; Beirut, 23-24 November; and
in Geneva, 6-7 December.
These meetings, along
with several inter-agency working groups drawn from the major
international organizations, helped the Secretary-General to prepare
a major report containing a comprehensive set of recommendations for
consideration in the FfD process.
To participate in FfD
Organizations which do
not already have consultative status with the UN Economic and Social
Council are invited to apply for ad hoc consultative status. Their
contributions to the inter-governmental process and attendance at
Preparatory Committee meetings are welcomed, and considered an
important input to the FfD process.
Site of the Conference
<www.un.org/esa/ffd>
For further
information, please contact ...
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