NEW YORK, April 27: Pakistan has called upon the developed countries to take an effective steps aimed at curbing the illegitimate flight of capital from developing countries to theirs.
Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz presiding over a round table conference of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations here on Monday championed the cause of the cash starved developing countries and said the developed countries must cooperate in plugging the leakage of illicit capital, which travels from developing world to the banks and financial institutions of the developed world.
He told the meeting that it was the duty of the developed countries of the world to ensure that the money they receive was transacted through legal channels without compromising the laid down procedures.
The round table meeting of ECOSOC focused on impact of private investment and trade related issues on financing for development. The UN Secretary General Kofi Annan presided over the plenary session of the conference.
Presiding over round table meeting the Finance Minister of Pakistan described the meeting as an opportunity to review the implementation of the commitments made by the international community two years after the adoption of the Monterrey Consensus.
During the course of discussions, the minister informed the participants that Pakistan had carried out wide-ranging reforms in every facet of national life. As a result, Pakistan had been able to achieve consistently high economic growth rates, widen its revenue and exports base, increase its foreign exchange reserves, secure macroeconomic stability through robust fiscal and banking reforms, and was now well-poised to address the issues of poverty eradication, social development, and achieve other millennium development goals.
Referring to the global partnership envisaged in the Monterrey Consensus, Shaukat Aziz stated that, while the primary responsibility for development rested with the member states, the impact of efforts at the national level would remain limited unless this was accompanied by an enabling environment at the international level. -APP
