8/2/2002
The International Conference on Financing for Development

The UN Millennium Summit saw an unprecedented gathering of world leaders agree a set of specific, time-bound development goals. However, as Kofi Annan has acknowledged, unless the same world leaders can succeed in mobilising greater resources to meet these goals, then any plans to eradicate poverty and accelerate development will be thwarted.

In recognition of this, the UN General Assembly decided in 1999 to call a conference to consider national and international financing structures in relation to development, and to identify how development targets might be met. After preparatory meetings in Jakarta, Addis Ababa, Bogota, Beirut and Geneva, the result is the forthcoming International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) in Monterrey, Mexico.

The five-day conference will take place from 18-22 March. It will address six key areas of resource generation and deployment. The first is domestic revenue in the form of taxation systems, public administration and financial infrastructure. The second is foreign investment and ways that countries can reap the benefits of foreign capital whilst safeguarding against its volatility.

The third area for discussion is international trade; the fourth is the strengthening of the participation of developing countries in international economic processes. The fifth is the issue of international debt and, perhaps most contentious, the final area to be examined is that of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA), levels of which are currently suffering in a long-term decline. In fact, to date only four countries meet the UN recommendation of ODA of 0.7% of GDP, despite repeated entreaties from the UN Secretary General that other countries follow this example.

The Monterrey Conference will be hosted under the auspices of several UN agencies; among them the UN Development Programme and the UN Conference on Trade and Development. An unprecedented feature of the FfD however will be the active participation of the World Bank, the World Trade Organisation and the International Monetary Fund. Representatives from non-governmental organisations and the business sector have also been included in the conference preparations - another unusual step for such gatherings.

A further distinctive feature of this conference is that delegates will enter into it with a declaration already drafted and agreed - the 64 paragraph Monterrey Consensus the outcome of intensive negotiations at the most recent preparatory meeting in January. Although the Preparatory Committee acknowledge that divergent opinions between developed and developing countries remain - particularly over aid levels and the time-frame for a follow-up conference - it is hoped that sufficient common ground has been established to facilitate a productive and universally beneficial dialogue. Moreover, with delegates freed from the arduous task of negotiating text, it is hoped that concrete and substantive proposals on improving development finance and integrating all nations into the world economy will emerge.

EuropaWorld will be following the outcomes of the Conference as it progresses. In the meantime, more information can be found at www.un.org/esa/ffd