Addressing the International Conference on Financing for Development in Doha the Commonwealth Secretary-General said Monterrey +6 - ‘the spirit of collective responsibility must endure'
30 Nov 2008
Speaking at an international conference on Financing for Development, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma looked back on the six years since he was present at the creation of the Monterrey Consensus, as Chair of the UN Working Group.
‘Some things have been laudable – and some not so’, he told the plenary session.
He continued: ‘The current financial crisis must not divert us from addressing the continuing development crisis. This is not a matter of ‘either/or’: the world must mobilise the resources to meet both.’
Trade, he stressed, can generate the most enduring Finance for Development. ‘The message from this Doha meeting of November 2008 must be that the high hopes of that other Doha process – the trade negotiations which began in this city in November 2001 – must come to fruition.’
Mr Sharma emphasised the Commonwealth approach that women and young people must be at the centre of the development process, ‘first in guaranteeing their rights and basic needs, but also in unleashing all of their potential to benefit themselves and the societies of which they are a part’.
It is only through international cooperation, and in hearing the voice of all countries, rich and poor, that the world’s development challenges can be met, said Mr Sharma. ‘The key to success in defining the Monterrey Consensus when we first forged it, and in renewing our commitment to it now, is partnership. Responsibility for implementation and contribution is shared.‘
Mr Sharma also addressed a conference panel on mobilising international resources for development, especially foreign direct investment and other private flows.
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Source: The Commonwealth Secretariat
He continued: ‘The current financial crisis must not divert us from addressing the continuing development crisis. This is not a matter of ‘either/or’: the world must mobilise the resources to meet both.’
Trade, he stressed, can generate the most enduring Finance for Development. ‘The message from this Doha meeting of November 2008 must be that the high hopes of that other Doha process – the trade negotiations which began in this city in November 2001 – must come to fruition.’
Mr Sharma emphasised the Commonwealth approach that women and young people must be at the centre of the development process, ‘first in guaranteeing their rights and basic needs, but also in unleashing all of their potential to benefit themselves and the societies of which they are a part’.
It is only through international cooperation, and in hearing the voice of all countries, rich and poor, that the world’s development challenges can be met, said Mr Sharma. ‘The key to success in defining the Monterrey Consensus when we first forged it, and in renewing our commitment to it now, is partnership. Responsibility for implementation and contribution is shared.‘
Mr Sharma also addressed a conference panel on mobilising international resources for development, especially foreign direct investment and other private flows.
Read More...
Source: The Commonwealth Secretariat
