Global Growth Conference: statement by Carlos Lopes, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ECA

Abstract

This growth experience is however not sufficient. It falls short of 7% which is the minimum required to double average incomes in a decade. This is partly due to the fact that far too many of our economies are dependent on the production and export of primary commodities. Far too many are highly unequal. As we celebrate the fact that seven of our countries are in the top ten of global growth we must also bear in mind that a similar number are in the top ten of global inequality. Indeed, far too many of our people remain in the grip of unrelenting hunger and poverty