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Monterrey, Mexico, chosen as venue for UN forum on financing for development

Monterrey, Mexico, chosen as venue for UN forum on financing for development

Next year's major United Nations conference on financing for development will be held in the Mexican city of Monterrey, a representative of Mexico announced today at UN headquarters.

Miguel Hakim, a member of Mexico's permanent mission to the UN, told a preparatory committee for the upcoming International Conference on Financing for Development that, as host country, Mexico was determined to contribute to an open, broad-based dialogue between the business sector, civil society and other relevant actors in development financing. It was Mexico's hope, he said, that after the Conference, which is scheduled to take place from 18-22 March 2002, history would refer to the "consensus of Monterrey."

The Conference is expected to draw high-level representatives from around the world in an effort to focus attention on the challenges of financing for development. It is anticipated that regional groups, intergovernmental organizations and world financial institutions will also take an active part in the forum.

The preparatory committee, which began its third session this morning, will meet for a week to discuss possible initiatives or themes for the Conference, including mobilizing domestic financial resources for development, increasing international financial cooperation, and addressing debt and systemic issues. The next week-long segment of the session will be held in October or November.