Opening statement to the twentieth meeting of the Technical Preparatory Committee Of the Whole (TEPCOW) and the ninth meeting of the intergovernmental group of experts

Abstract

Within the last three years, these conferences of Ministers of Finance and Planning, held jointly or in separate groups, have covered the key topics of trade and investment, financial sector reforms, debt management, and the challenge of financing development in Africa. We not only gained consensus on these key topics, but our positions helped influence G-8 meetings and the policies of debt holders. The November 2000 Conference of Ministers of Finance helped to prepare African countries for two upcoming global gatherings mandated by the UN General Assembly: The UN high-level event on financing fur development and the third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries.