At UN, Central American officials focus on fight against poverty

Senior officials from two Central American countries have spotlighted the fight against poverty during their addresses to the General Assembly, warning that the battle required greater international cooperation to help struggling nations to bridge the gap with wealthier States.

El Salvador’s President Carlos Mauricio Funes Cartagena said his country would find it difficult to meet some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the globally agreed targets for tackling social and economic ills – by their target date of 2015.

Speaking yesterday on the second day of the Assembly’s annual general debate, he noted that the gap between rich and poor was extremely difficult to overcome, both between and within nations.

The President called for greater international economic investment in Central America, adding that this would also help individual countries in the region in their fight against organized crime, particularly its involvement in the illicit drug trade.

For his part, Mario Canahuati, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Honduras, said the MDG of slashing poverty was still achievable, but only if the international community worked more closely together to help poorer nations.

He also stressed the need for greater foreign investment in developing countries, as well as more access to technology, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and more open international markets so that poorer nations could compete.