[asia-apec 1045] Financing for Dev't: NGO Dialogue at UN HQ, New York

[UN-NGLS (NY Office)]

Financing for Development: NGO dialogue with the vice-chairs and
delegations, taking place at UN Headquarters in New York.
_________________________________________________________

The Financing for Development working group will continue with 
meetings in the week of 15 March 1999.

The Vice-Chairpersons of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group of the
General Assembly on financing for development are inviting members
of the ECOSOC accredited NGO community to a dialogue on the
forthcoming series of informal intergovernmental consultations on the
agenda and scope of a high-level intergovernmental forum on financing
for development to be held in 2001. 

The dialogue will be held on 15 March at 3pm [Conference Room to be
announced] before the opening of the first series of informal
intergovernmental consultations. NGOs are therefore invited to share
their views on the major issues that should be considered in the
Financing for Development process, under the major elements entitled:

 (1) Mobilizing domestic resources for development;
 (2) Mobilizing international private financial flows for development;
 (3) International financial cooperation for development; and
 (4) External debt (bilateral, multilateral and commercial) . 

See below for key elements identified in the Index Report 
(A/53/470).

All interested delegations are invited to join the vice-chairpersons
in hearing the views of civil society on these issues. For
further information, see the Financing for Development website:

http://www.un.org/esa/analysis/ffd.htm 
_________________________________________________________

Key Elements identified in the Index Report (excerpted from 
A/53/470):

II. Recurring themes and key elements identified by stakeholders

1. Mobilizing domestic resources for development 

Domestic human development and capacity-building 
- Education and training 
- Health and environmental protection 
- Development of the private sector

Economic policies and measures 
- Fiscal policy and institutions 
- Monetary policy and institutions 
 -Savings policy 
 -Tax policy and institutions 
- Income distribution and income concentration

Domestic financial markets and institutions 
- Capital markets 
- Financial institutions 
 -Banking system 
 -Microfinancing and microcredit institutions 
- Domestic pension funds

Public administration and governance 
- Domestic business legal framework 
- Effective enforcement of laws and anti-corruption programmes 
- Public participation in economic policy-making 
- Policy coordination and coherence

2. Mobilizing international private financial flows for development

Private capital flows for capacity-building 
- Education and training 
 -Development of local entrepreneurs 
- Sustainable development

Utilization of different investment channels 
- Foreign direct investment 
- Private short-term financial flows 
- Foreign portfolio investment 
- Management and production contractual relations 
- Project finance and management

Domestic policies on international private financial flows 
 -Privatization programmes 
- Supervisory and regulatory arrangements 
 -Incentive and investment promotion programmes 
- Financial market liberalization 
 -Credit guarantee programmes 
- Disclosure of financial information

International policies on international private financial flows 
- Bilateral and multilateral investment agreements 
- Cross-border mergers and acquisitions
- International accounting and reporting standards 
 -Cross-border illicit payments 
- Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) 
- Market evaluations and assessments

Management of international private financial flows 
- Management of currencies 
- Management of volatility and its effects on development 
- Management of environmental and social effects 
- Leverage of international private financial resources

Distribution of private investment flows 
- Least developed countries 
- Sub-Saharan Africa 
 -Small island developing countries

3. International financial cooperation for development

International support for capacity-building 
- Education and training 
- Health and environment 
- Poverty alleviation and humanitarian assistance 
- Private sector development

Development cooperation arrangements
-Donor country policies and actions 
  --Overall level of financial flows 
  --Donor coordination 
  --Conditionality
- Recipient countries' policies and actions
- Meeting commitments made at United Nations conferences

Official development assistance (ODA) 
-Bilateral assistance 
-Regional cooperation 
  --Regional development banks 
  --South-South aid programmes 
- Multilateral assistance 
- International financial institutions and assistance 
- United Nations system 
- Multi-bilateral aid

Non-governmental assistance (non-governmental organizations,
foundations)
 
Effectiveness of international assistance 
-Measurement and criteria for evaluation
 
Specific country groups

4. External debt (bilateral, multilateral and commercial)

Bilateral public sector debt

Multilateral public sector debt 
 -Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative

Commercial market 
 -Private sector debt 
 -Public sector debt

Aspects of external debt 
 -Management, monitoring and sustainability 
 -Consequences and impacts 
 -Alleviation and new solutions 
 -Responsibilities, problems and actions

Debt conversion 
 -Debt-for-nature swaps 
 -Debt-for-equity swaps 
 -Other debt-for-development swaps

Specific country groups 
- Low-income countries 
- Middle-income countries