Undersecretary Scotti: The Poor Countries Must Not Become the Economic Crisis' Main Casualties
02/12/2008
“It is our duty to rise to the challenge and to show the leadership needed to ensure that the world's poorer and more vulnerable countries do not become the main victims of this crisis", Foreign Undersecretary Vincenzo Scotti said, speaking at the Review Conference on Financing for Development held in Doha from 29 November to 2 December. The Doha forum is part of a process that was first launched in Monterrery in 2002 and that continued in Accra last September.
Undersecretary Scotti highlighted the need to implement the Accra agenda in concrete terms, underscoring the importance of strategic dialogue between Europe and the developing countries, particularly those in Africa. In line with the results of the Accra meeting, Scotti stressed the need for a more all-embracing approach to cooperation policy designed to take into account the fact that numerous different are at play in determining growth. They include trade, direct private-sector investment and public-private partnerships, along with the contributions made by NGO's and by civil society and governments in local communities.
Africa, the Millennium Development Goals and the struggle against poverty will be the top priorities at the next G8 Summit, Scotti explained. It will be necessary to set up global partnerships in order to promote food safety and to boost the UN agencies' ability to swing rapidly and efficiently into action. The undersecretary went on to highlight the Italian Presidency's commitment to supporting the Global Fund for handling crises, in the priority interest of the world's poorer countries.
