Commonwealth Finance Ministers discuss support for small states and economies
7 October 2004
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| Ministers welcomed the role the Commonwealth has played and continues to play. |
Finance ministers reviewed the world economic situation and discussed a range of issues on the agenda of the approaching annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC, on 1 October 2004.
In their Communiqué, the ministers noted that while global economic growth remained strong, not all regions had benefited. Many countries in Africa and among the community of small states, including in the Caribbean, remain exceptionally vulnerable to the impact of unanticipated shocks. For heavily indebted oil-importing developing countries, the combination of rising oil prices and interest rates would be a heavy burden.
Ministers called for action by all countries to make rapid and substantial progress in agreeing and implementing the Doha Development Agenda, in particular on agricultural trade liberalisation, crucial for growth in developing countries, and on special and differential treatment to enable capacity-constrained countries to benefit from multilateral trade liberalisation. They welcomed the role the Commonwealth has played and continues to play in providing political momentum to getting the Doha Development Round negotiations back on track.
Another issue of concern was progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Ministers were concerned that a significant number of Commonwealth countries are likely to fail to achieve the MDGs, some by a substantial margin, including the goal for reducing the proportion of people living in extreme poverty. They called for a renewed sense of urgency in implementing all the elements of the Monterrey Consensus, which is subject to review in 2005, and urged all parties to the Consensus to fulfil their obligations. In particular, they noted the key role that official development assistance plays in financing MDG-related investments, and supporting policies and institution-building needed for growth and poverty reduction.
The Monterrey Consensus -- adopted in 2002 by the International Conference on Financing for Development -- is a commitment by nations to provide the resources to meet the Millennium Development Goals and the conditions that will enable freer trade, more foreign investment, debt relief and efficient government.
In the area of trade liberalisation, ministers noted that developing countries will not succeed in accelerating economic growth without adequate access to markets of industrial countries and of each other, particularly in agriculture. They also recognised that trade liberalisation could have short and medium term costs for some countries, including those dependent on trade preferences, and that countries needed help in securing the long run benefits of liberalisation. The ministers noted the need for appropriate trade policies and transitional financing arrangements to mitigate the significant losses that some preference dependent economies will face from their erosion.
Finance ministers recognised that money laundering and financing of terrorism continued to pose serious threats to financial systems of the global community. On small states, ministers noted the increased vulnerability of these countries arising from natural disasters and other threats such as HIV/AIDS, and the cost of measures to combat global terrorism.
The next Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting will be in Barbados in 2005.
See Also: Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting 2004 - Communiqué
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