CSD Intersessional Working Group on Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Growth

The Ad Hoc Intersessional Working Group (AHWG) for CSD-8 on Finance, Trade, Investment and Economic Growthopened at UN Headquarters in New York City today. Delegates heard opening remarks from CSD-8 Chair Minister Juan Mayr Maldonado, presentations of the Secretary-General's reports, and general statements on finance.
Chair Mayr, fresh from his successful introduction of novel approaches to the negotiations of the Biosafety Protocol in Montreal, is expected to work hard in the coming weeks at fostering a new role for the CSD. He wants the CSD to take the complex issues of trade, environment, agriculture and finance "out of the freezer" for more creative treatment by the Commission. Attentive to the historical gap between the ideas generated at the CSD, and their implementation, he does not envisage the CSD coming up with definitive solutions. Instead, he has been heard urging participants to limit their role to laying the foundations for problem-solving by other relevant international organizations.

In his opening remarks, Minister Juan Mayr urged the CSD-8 to come up with the key building blocks for bridges to facilitate better agreements in the future.

JoAnne DiSano, Director of the UN Division of Sustainable Development introduces the reports of the Secretary-General on Financial Resources and Mechanisms and on Economic Growth, Trade and Investment (RealAudio of DiSano's statement)

Download the Secretary-General's Report on Finance (E/CN.17/2000/2)

Download the Secretary-General's Report on Economic Growth  (E/CN.17/2000/4)

See Yan Lin, Malaysia and Former Deputy Governor, Bank Negara Malaysia introduced the Chairman's Summary of the Fifth Expert Group Meeting on Finance for Sustainable Development

The meeting on Finance for Sustainable Development: Testing New Policy Approaches was held in Nairobi, Kenya, in December 1999

Download the Chairman's Summary Report

Ambassador Julio Mascarenhas of Portugal, on behalf of the European Union (RealAudio of the EU's statement)

Ambassador Mascarenhas said a more holistic, coherent development effort is required, involving optimal partnerships between all sources of development finance. He said both the quality and quantity of ODA need to be enhanced and called for more efficient delivery with clearer links to the international development targets, improved allocation between countries and better coordination especially through sector-wide approaches and using the UN Development Assistance Framework and World Bank Comprehensive Development Framework. He also welcomed new innovative sources of finance, highlighting the Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol.

The US welcomed the five-fold increase in international private financial flows to developing countries since, 1990, but added that these resources were concentrated in a few countries. He acknowledged the need to examine how private flows can be extended to more countries and how to further integrate the private sector into the global development agenda.