UNITED NATIONS, (G77/IPS) — Qatar, a former chairman of the G77, has offered to host the first follow-up conference to review the implementation of the outcome of the 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) which was held in Monterrey, Mexico.
The upcoming conference, in which the Group of 77 and China will take a leading role, is expected to take place in the second half of 2008 in the Qatari capital of Doha.
The General Assembly will hold a high-level dialogue on FfD during its next session beginning September this year. This dialogue will be in preparation for the Doha conference.
“I count on the G77 to remain a driving force behind these important processes, so that we may convert existing promises into actual progress,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told delegates at the handover ceremony of the G77 chairmanship early this year.
A statement issued following the G77 ministerial meeting held last November said the ministers welcomed the offer of the State of Qatar to host the FfD follow-up conference next year.
At its conclusion on 22 March 2002, the FfD conference adopted the “Monterrey Consensus” in which heads of State and government resolved to address the challenges of financing for development around the world, particularly in developing countries.
Their goal was to eradicate poverty, achieve sustained economic growth and promote sustainable development, as they advance to a fully inclusive and equitable global economic system.
In the Consensus, the heads of State and government gathered in Monterrey pledged, as their first step, to mobilize financial resources and achieve the national and international economic conditions needed to fulfil internationally agreed development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration to reduce poverty and improve social conditions.
The outcome document (A/CONF.198/3) was divided into three sections — confronting the challenges of financing for development; leading actions; and staying engaged.
While the role of national policies and the primary responsibility for each country’s own economic and social development, the document recognized that domestic economies were interwoven with the global economic system, and national development efforts need to be supported by an enabling international environment.
The document also committed world leaders to join forces through a strengthened multilateralism, in recognition of the potential of the United Nations system for fostering worldwide cooperation, and to consolidate the global economic system around the principles of equity, participation, ownership, transparency and accountability.