Liberia: PM chairs development meeting
Panel will discuss the creation of a new framework to help the world's poorest people.
Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in the Liberian capital Monrovia today to co-chair a meeting of the UN’s High Level Panel (HLP).
The panel is meeting to discuss what should replace the Millennium Development Goals after they expire in 2015.
He said:
We are chairing a panel that’s going to write the rules for aid and development for the next 20 years.
It is up to us to keep up the emphasis on eradicating extreme poverty.
Part of a wider effort
Reflecting the priorities of this year’s UK Presidency of the G8, which will prioritise tax, trade and transparency, the Prime Minister added:
We must also look at those things that keep countries poor, including conflict and lack of justice.
The Prime Minister will co-chair the meeting alongside Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia.
Millennium Development Goals
The MDGs are the blueprint agreed in 2000 by governments and international development organisations for meeting the needs of the world’s poorest people by 2015.
The 8 goals include halving extreme poverty, reducing child mortality and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The HLP was formed in July 2012 by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to advise on creating a post-2015 global development framework. The Panel is due to submit a report of its recommendations to the Secretary-General in May 2013.
This is the 3rd leg of the Prime Minister’s Africa trip, after visits to Algeria and Libya.