GA/SM/151
DEV/2230

ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT’S REMARKS AT ORGANIZATIONAL SESSION OF PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR HIGH-LEVEL EVENT ON FINANCING FOR DEVELOPMENT

Following is the text of the introductory remarks of Theo-Ben Gurirab, President of the General Assembly, at the organizational session of the Preparatory Committee for the High-Level International Intergovernmental Event on Financing for Development, which is scheduled to be held in 2001:

Two years ago this month, the Second Committee [Economic and Financial] of the General Assembly met in resumed session to begin working on “Financing for Development”. As requested in a historic resolution A/C.2/54/L.25 of the Assembly, we set upon a path to prepare for a high-level, intergovernmental consideration of financing for development.

Following open and intense discussion, in late 1998, the General Assembly agreed to establish an ad hoc open-ended working group to push further ahead with preliminary discussions. That working group met for several weeks in the first half of 1999 and advanced our agreement on the scope, form and agenda of the proposed 2001 meeting.

Since then, the General Assembly has adopted resolution 54/196 establishing the Preparatory Committee and setting out a timetable for its work. However, despite the universal importance given to the preparatory process, we must acknowledge the limited progress on some critical procedural issues.

To start the work of the Preparatory Committee, and as requested in resolution 54/196, two documents have been prepared: a provisional agenda (A/AC.257/2) and the report of the Secretary-General on the consultations on the potential modalities of participation in the substantive preparatory process and the high-level intergovernmental event on financing for development (A/AC.257/1). These documents will provide the basis for the work of the Preparatory Committee as soon as its Bureau and Co-Chairmen have been elected.

The appointment of the Bureau and the two Co-Chairs is, thus, all the more pressing because of the role all are expected to play in further consultations with all relevant stakeholders regarding the modalities of their participation in both the preparatory process and the final event. This applies, in particular, to the possibility of creating a joint task force. If created, this task force would be a central element in the process, and therefore, needs to be established as soon as possible to enable work to proceed.

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In addition, the General Assembly’s resolution calls upon the Bureau to undertake consultations with all other relevant stakeholders, including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and to submit proposals to the resumed organizational session in March. Clearly, time is pressing and it would be an inauspicious start to this important process if there were further slippage in a timetable that we ourselves set only six weeks ago.

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United Nations