Commonwealth Finance Ministers will meet on October 8 to explore ways of financing the Post-2015 development agenda.
The meeting is coming at a time when many countries are struggling to meet targets for combating poverty and improving livelihoods of millions of their citizens.
According to a statement, the meeting will take place in Washington DC on the sidelines of the 2014 International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings.
The ministers will consider, among other things, the findings of the report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing.
The report explores options for mobilising resources to achieve sustainable development goals.
The Co-Chair of Committee of Experts and former Nigerian Finance Minister, Dr. Mansur Muhtar, will brief Ministers on the committee’s ideas for funding social and economic development.
The ministers will also discuss key areas which require further work and the political impetus needed for an ambitious outcome at the third UN Financing for Development Conference which will be convened in Addis Ababa in July 2015.
Another major item on the agenda, according to the statement, will be to discuss proposals for reform designed to improve ways of mobilising, measuring, and monitoring the effectiveness of Official Development Assistance. The proposals were developed by countries belonging to the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development.
During the meetings in Washington DC the Commonwealth Secretariat will inaugurate its new publication, Innovative Finance for Development, which has been developed as a toolkit and provides guideline and principles for consideration in the reform process, the statement added.
The Secretary-General, Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma, described the meeting as an outstanding opportunity for taking stock of international approaches to development and development finance.
He said, “These meetings convene at a time of intense global discussion on the content and direction of the post-2015 development agenda, and of the framework for financing that will underpin it.
“We look forward to reaching a distinctive Commonwealth perspective on how these initiatives can be implemented, and in particular of how the concerns of the smallest, poorest, and most vulnerable countries can be brought to the table.”
Sharma added that the Commonwealth collectively had a special role to play by drawing together contributions from its diverse yet closely interconnected membership, enabling it to serve as a microcosm of the global community and provide valuable insights into development experience from a range of perspectives.
Punch
