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MONTERREY,
Mexico -- Mexican President Vicente Fox was appointed
President of the International Financing for
Development Conference on Monday in Monterrey,
Mexico. In addition,
Jorge G. Castañeda Gutman, Minister for
Foreign Affairs, Francisco Gil Diaz, Minister
for Finance, and Luis Ernesto Derbez Bautista,
Minister
for Trade of Mexico were appointed Co-Presidents
of the ministerial segment of the conference. The
five-day conference at which the European Union and
the United States pledged billions in development
aid, has so far issued a total of 5,000 passes which
include 15 prime ministers, 120 ministers and deputy
ministers and 1100 members of the media. In an atmosphere
of "consensus and cooperation," UN spokeswoman
Susan Markham said that 120 countries are currently
represented and many of the 58 heads of state and
government have already arrived.
Leading the advance teams were Poul Nielson,
European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian
Aid, John Negroponte, US ambassador to the
UN, and Alan P. Larson, US Under Secretary
of Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs.
Negroponte briefed conference delegates Monday
morning on the current position of the United
States on development aid, which emphasizes
private sector investment and trade over large
amounts of development aid. According to UN
officials, President Bush is expected to address
the delegation in a high-level plenary session
this Friday.
At a press conference Monday afternoon, Markham
said Fox would preside over the conference
and oversee its successful outcome. Markham
was positive that the conference would be a
success due in part to the consensus reached
over the conference document one month ago
at the UN.
The
Monterrey consensus, the document prepared
last month
by the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom)
for the conference was also presented Monday
morning. The document underscores the UN Millennium
Goals of reducing poverty by half around the
world by the year 2015, and is a "realistic
step towards evolving a realistic framework
for development," according to Ruth Jacoby,
Co-Chairperson of the PrepCom. "Recognizing
that peace and development are mutually reinforcing," reads
the document, "we are determined to pursue
our shared vision for a better future, through
our individual efforts combined with vigorous
multilateral action. Upholding the Charter
of the United Nations and building upon the
values of the Millennium Declaration, we commit
ourselves to promoting national and global
economic systems based on the principles of
justice, equity, democracy, participation,
transparency, accountability and inclusion."
Never before has a UN conference begun with
a consensus document. According to Markham,
many more heads of state and government, including
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan are expected
in Monterrey by the end of the week.
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