April 26, 2009 - Los Angeles, CA – The Special High-level Meeting of the Economic and Social Council (“ECOSOC”) with the Bretton Woods Institutions, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development will be held on Monday, 27 April 2009, at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the EurOrient Financial Group (“EurOrient”) and a Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Mr. Ron Nechemia will attend the Special High-level Meeting of the Economic and Social Council as a fully-fledged stake-holder, along with the Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO where Mr. Nechemia delivered aPolicy Statement concerning sustainable development in the face of the global financial crisis.
As an officially recognized representative of the private sector to the United Nations, Mr. Nechemia, who is recognized as the founding father of private sector development, will be delivering a prepared Policy Statement for The Special High-level Meeting attended by finance and development ministers, central bankers, Executive Directors of the Bretton Woods Institutions, leaders from the major international trade institutions and delegations belonging to the United Nation Economic and Social Council.
The overall theme of the meeting will be “Coherence, coordination and cooperation in the context of the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development."
The meeting will focus on the following sub-themes:
1. Addressing the impact of the global financial and economic crisis on development, including issues related to the international financial and monetary architecture and global governance structures; and
2. Strengthening of the intergovernmental inclusive process to carry out the financing for development follow-up.
The format of the meeting will include a short opening plenary with brief statements by the President of Economic and Social Council Sylvie Lucas, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the heads of relevant intergovernmental bodies and other senior officials. Closing remarks by the President of the Council will conclude the meeting.
According to Mr. Nechemia, the meeting will build on its tradition, but its timing also adds greatly to its significance, particularly it is less than eight months since the threats to systemic stability became manifest (September 2008) with the collapse or near-collapse of several key institutions. The far-reaching nature of the events that are unfolding is illustrated by the fact that within a period of only one week, large stand-alone investment banks disappeared from the U.S. financial landscape. As we enter 2009, global financial institutions and markets have been badly shaken that has now developed into a global economic meltdown.
Furthermore, the Special High-level Meeting of the Economic and Social Council convening within four months since the world leaders and decision makers gathered in Doha, Qatar, to take stock of the Monterrey Consensus.
Financial markets in both developed and developing countries have experienced enormous growth in years. Regrettably, regulatory checks and balances have failed to keep pace. The current turmoil in world markets demonstrates that this gap is unsustainable. “We need innovative regulation to protect financial systems and sustain continued growth and expansion. This requires a concerted effort by all players, working through universal forums like the United Nations and the international financial institutions (“IFI”)”, says Mr. Nechemia.
The effects of the recent financial turmoil continue to reverberate around the world. Years of painstaking efforts -- across the international community -- hang in the balance. Unemployment is rising, food and energy prices are fluctuating, social protection systems are failing and access to credit and financial services is shrinking. All of this is taking a heavy toll on individuals, especially the poorest of the poor.
An original participant at the convening of the first International Summit on Financing for Development was held from 18-22 March 2002 in Monterrey, N.L., Mexico, Mr. Nechemia brings a unique and historical perspective to the dialogue and the issues. Mr. Nechemia’s attendance along with the solicitation of his ideas was extended via a United Nations General Assembly resolution (55/245A and B, respectively,) in which the Assembly decided to convene, at the highest political level, the International Summit on Financing for Development; and, “Accordingly, and in pursuance of paragraph 11 of General Assembly resolution 55/245B, EurOrient Financial Group (“EurOrient”) honorably was invited to participate” represented by Mr. Ron Nechemia in the historical International Summit on Financing for Development on a Ministerial Segment. Mr. Nechemia’s participation aimed to elevate the vision by highlighting how we all need to work together during the years to come, as the international community builds toward the Millennium Development Goals, to create the brilliant tapestry of what sustainable financing for development is in practice.
“The increasingly interdependent world economy requires a holistic approach to the interconnected national, international, and systemic challenges of financing for development — in addressing these challenges, we affirm the important,” said Mr. Nechemia’s during his first official Policy Statement on the Monterey Consensus.
In his original address to the Monterrey Summit, Mr. Nechemia emphasized the need for`coherence', particularly between national and international responsibilities. Lack of concerted action to bring the benefits of development to the vast majority of humanity that lives in the developing world would only increase the `ravages of poverty', and that the road to development is arduous and the decisions being faced by the developing countries and the international community will be increasingly difficult. Finally, Mr. Nechemia noted with special attention the seriousness with which it accepts these responsibilities. “Our actions in the area of financing for development are unique in that they directly affect the lives and security of billions of less fortunate human beings around the world,” he said in his remarks to the participates in the Summit that included ministers of finance, trade and foreign affairs; the United Nations Secretary-General; the heads of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization; the representatives of civil society, leaders from the private sector, and senior officials of all the major intergovernmental financial, trade, economic, and monetary organizations.
That original theme, along with the new issues facing our global economy and society are the focus of the current High-level Meeting of the Economic and Social Council with the Bretton Woods Institutions, the World Trade Organization and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development at the United Nations. “The process of globalization and global economic integration is a reality and a challenge that will continue to occupy the collective intellectual energy of the international community because of its failure to respond to the particular needs of developing countries. The economic disparities between developed and developing countries that continue to increase must force us to question the sustainability of the international financial architecture in its present form,” says Mr. Nechemia, “however, these issues are of even greater concern presently given the challenges the world community faces with the global economic meltdown.”
Regarding the overarching concept of Mr. Nechemia’s forthcoming high-level dialogue and Policy Statement to be delivered at the United Nations, Mr. Nechemia states: “There exists a great need to focus above all things on coherence and about finding better ways of dealing with the increasing frequency, intensity and destructive power of financial and monetary crises, such as but not limited to the Asian Financial Crisis (1997 – 1999) and The Argentine Economic Crisis (1999 - 2002), and the current Subprime Lending Crisis in 2008, and other crises demonstrating that this is a systemic problem that can only be solved through coherence among trade, finance, and monetary policies, coherence between short-term and long-term development policy objectives, coherence between the national and international responsibilities, the regional and the interregional cooperation, the governmental and the intergovernmental spheres.”
Moreover, Mr. Nechemia adds, “The Economic and Social Council should offer a venue to address the crisis’s’ multiple dimensions and implications for poverty and sustainable development, and solicit concrete initiatives to help alleviate its impact on the most vulnerable.”
Looking ahead, EurOrient Financial Group is firmly committed to keeping fully engaged, nationally, regionally and internationally, to contribute to the follow-up to the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus and the Doha Declaration on Financing for Development and commitments reached at both Summits, and to continuing to build bridges between development finance and development agenda and initiatives. Greater coordination among all stakeholders is called for, while respecting their individual mandates and governance structures. To this end, the EurOrient Financial Group is calling to address coherence, coordination, and cooperation in the context of follow-up to the Summits. It is also envisaged that representatives of the EurOrient Financial Group and the Directors of the Executive Boards will interact periodically to discuss the follow-up to Monterrey--and use the process to further enhance relations with the United Nations.
The EurOrient Financial Group stand ready to support the main thrust of the Summits—on Financing for Development and firmly committed the objective of poverty eradication through sustainable development--and use the process to further enhance relations with the United Nations.
About EurOrient
EurOrient Financial Group is a private sector global development finance institution accredited financial institution by United Nations General Assembly on Financing for Development. The mission of the EurOrient Financial Group is to support the economic and social development efforts of the less developed countries as they, in particular, seek to achieve the Millennium Development Goals ("MDGs").
The EurOrient's principal objective is to reducing poverty and promoting sustainable economic growth. EurOrient invests in projects and programs that promote social development, build human capacities, and address host government priorities for investments in physical infrastructure that promote and enhance social development. These projects include roads, transportation and communication systems, water, sanitation and other types of investments with social development outcomes such as improved quality of life and increased human knowledge and skills.
