UNITED NATIONS, April 5: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday called for preparing a comprehensive package to reform the United Nations’ activities and said the package should be coupled with a phased implementation plan. He stated this while presiding over the inaugural meeting of a panel for strengthening United Nations’ operational activities.
“The overarching objective of our efforts ... should be to ensure the greatest possible delivery of both operational and policy assistance to developing countries,” he told 15 world leaders assembled here to make recommendations in areas of development, environment and humanitarian assistance.
The prime minister, one of three co-chairpersons, spoke after the welcoming remarks by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who said that the appointment of the panel comes at a time of “great opportunity and high expectations” in the context of the UN reform process.
Officially called the UN secretary-general’s high-level panel on system-wide coherence in the areas of development, humanitarian assistance and environment, its two other co-chairpersons are: Prime Minister of Mozambique Mrs Lumsa Dias Diogo, and Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg.
The co-chairpersons held preliminary talks on Tuesday to discuss the mechanics of the meeting.
Prime Minister Aziz said, “The panel offers a unqiue opportunity to advance the vision set out in the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document to strengthen United Nations system and its collaboration with all multilateral financial trade and development institutions to support sustained economic growth, poverty eradication and sustainable development ... The UN system must utilise its unique advantages in supporting development.”
He said, “We must see how to help developing countries to evolve coherent national strategies.”
Panel members include UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, former President of Chile Ricardo Lagos Escobar and former President of Tanzania Benjamin Mkapa. — APP
UNITED NATIONS, April 5: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday called for preparing a comprehensive package to reform the United Nations’ activities and said the package should be coupled with a phased implementation plan. He stated this while presiding over the inaugural meeting of a panel for strengthening United Nations’ operational activities.
