March 18, 2002
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced that he will attend the UN International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico from March 20-22.

"This UN Conference presents a much-needed opportunity to achieve a better global consensus on the diverse factors that affect development financing. We hope it leads to a more successful partnership between developed and developing nations and increases the co-operation and coherence in approaches to development among governments and multilateral institutions," said the Prime Minister. "It is an important step toward meeting the goals we set at the Millennium Conference in 2000."

This is the first summit-level meeting to focus on the national, international and systemic issues that affect the generation of resources for development. Leaders are expected to reach agreement on how both developed and developing countries will address six key areas that have an impact on financing for development.

These areas are: mobilizing domestic financial capital, increasing foreign direct investment and other private flows; international trade as an engine for development; increasing financial and technical assistance for development; examining external debt and enhancing the coherence and consistency of international monetary, financial and trading systems. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization have been involved in preparations for this conference to a degree that is unprecedented for a UN Conference.

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