“Los países desarrollados no avanzaron suficiente en la transparencia económica ni en la regulación de los mercados financieros, y eso afectó mucho a los países en vía de desarrollo” – Kamla Persad-Bissessar, primera ministra de Trinidad y Tobago

Progress towards achieving Millennium Development Goals ‘uneven’ – Trinidad PM

Trinidad and Tobago says based on what the international community has witnessed since commitments were made at the Millennium Summit in 2007, progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been “uneven.”

In addressing the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly Debate late Wednesday, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said while the twin-island Republic has made “tremendous strides in achieving the goals, and in some cases has surpassed them,” a number of countries are “not on track to realize any of the targets.

“By 2005, and again in 2010, it was evident that greater efforts were necessary if developing countries as a whole were to meet their MDG targets by the stipulated deadline,” she said.

“However, despite numerous constraints in the difficult international economic and financial environment, developing countries have done much to finance their own development,” she added.

In contrast, Persad-Bissessar, who is also the current chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said many believe that developed countries have not done enough to honour their commitments, to provide development assistance to their partners, consistent with the agreement reached at the Millennium Summit.
“Arguably, developed countries have not done enough to reform their trade, tax and transparency policies,” she said. “Moreover, insufficient attention has been paid to appropriate regulation of the global financial and commodity markets. These in turn have negatively impacted the ability of many developing countries to achieve the MDGs.”

The Trinidad and Tobago leader said, since the 2000 summit, there has been some progress, in the achievement of the internationally agreed development goals including the MDGs, but added that there have been “too many pitfalls.
She warned that current approaches will not advance the MDG agenda by 2015 or ensure sustainable development in the Post 2015 context, as agreed at the Rio+20 Conference in June 2012.

In reflecting on the role of the United Nations in addressing the issue of
development, she welcomed a UN declaration for a renewed commitment to the MDG agenda and intensification in the efforts toward its achievement by 2015.

She also welcomed the decision to launch the intergovernmental process toward the agreement of the Post 2015 development agenda, stating that it should provide a “new and more inclusive architecture to assist us in achieving our global sustainable development objectives.”

As the United Nations begins to set the stage for the post 2015 development agenda, Persad-Bissessar urged the General Assembly to provide the platform to achieve this “sweeping change”, which, she said, would “ensure that we realize the objective of integrating sustainable development at all levels for a better world for all of humanity.”

The Trinidad and Tobago leader said her country will continue to do its part in assisting the “community of nations” to craft a post 2015 development agenda to integrate the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainability.

http://www.antiguaobserver.com/progress-towards-achieving-millennium-development-goals-uneven-trinidad-pm/