ISLAMABAD, March 22: Finance Minister, Shaukat Aziz has urged the developed countries to enhance Official Development Assistance (ODA), remove trade barriers against the product of the developing countries and provide debt relief so that funds are save that can be redirected for human development.

“Pakistan seeks to achieve economic sovereignty and wants to pursue structural reforms based on home-grown policies”, he stated while addressing the inaugural Summit session of the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico. The conference is being attended by nearly 60 Heads of State and Government, says a message received here on Friday.

The Finance Minister further stated that Pakistan wants to fight poverty and deprivation through concerted efforts to improve governance, transparency and macroeconomic management.

“Donors should help us to help ourselves and Pakistan does not seek to be permanently dependent on aid but needs donors support to achieve self- reliance,” Shaukat Aziz remarked.

The Finance Minister expressed the hope that the Conference would lead to initiating a process of genuine partnership between all stakeholders in pursuit of the goals of eradicating poverty and building a more fairer and equitable global economic system.

Earlier, the Summit segment of the Conference was inaugurated by President Vincent Fox of Mexico, who was also elected as the Chairman of the Conference.

On this occasion, President Fox said that the Monterrey Conference provides the international community a historic opportunity to construct together bridges and partnership between the developing and developed world.

Economic development should not only aim at removing the causes of poverty but also the well-being of human beings.

He emphasized the need to improve governance both at national and global levels so as to effectively meet the challenge of poverty eradication through collective endeavours.

UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan while addressing the Conference said that the leaders of the developing world were not asking for handouts, adding, “they want their voices to be heard.”

Trade provided a way out of poverty for them but for that the markets of the developed world must be fully opened to their products and unfair subsidies removed, he added.—APP