1st Biennial High-level Meeting of the Development Cooperation Forum

The first biennial high-level meeting of the Development Cooperation Forum took place at UN Headquarters, New York, on 30 June - 1 July 2008. The goal of the Forum was to position the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a principal forum for global dialogue and policy review on the effectiveness and coherence of international development cooperation

Presentations

Opening of the Development Cooperation Forum
- Leo Mérorès, President of ECOSOC (English, French)
- Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations (statement delivered by Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary-General , UNDESA)
Introduction of the report of the Secretary-General
- Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary-General, UNDESA
Keynote Q&A: “A new vision for development cooperation in the 21 st century”
- Louis Michel, European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid (English, French)
Development Cooperation Forum roundtables, Monday Afternoon Session
- A. Identifying gaps and obstacles: “Allocating more aid: where should it go?”
  - Sambou Wagué, Secretary-General, Ministry of Economy and Finance, Mali
  - Paul Collier, Professor and Director, Oxford University
  - Richard L. Greene, Deputy Director of Foreign Assistance, U.S. Department of State
- B. Reviewing trends and progress: “South-South and triangular development cooperation: what can development actors learn?”
  - Liu Guijin, Ambassador and Special Envoy on African Affairs, China
  - Karen Zelaya, Minister of International Cooperation, Honduras
  - Masato Watanabe, Deputy Director-General, International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
- C. Reviewing trends and progress: “How are civil society and new actors enhancing impact at the country-level?”
  - Kumi Naidoo, Chief Executive, CIVICUS
  - Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
  - Shona Grant, Managing Director, World Business Council for Sustainable Development
  - Peter Msola, Minister of Science, Technology and ICT of Tanzania
Development Cooperation Forum roundtables, Tuesday Morning Session
- A. Identifying gaps and obstacles: “Are capacities ready for more aid at the country-level?”
  - Gerard Niyibigira, President, Economic and Social Council of Burundi & former Minister of Finance
  - John Rwangombwa, Secretary-General and Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Rwanda
  - Ingrid Hoven, Director-General, Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany
B. Exchanging lessons learned: “How can development aid support national development strategies?”
- Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, Minister of Economy and Finance, Niger
- Park Kang-ho, Director General for Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Korea
- Bernard Petit, Deputy-Director-General for Development, European Commission
Special presentation: “Key policy messages and recommendations of the Rome Stakeholder Forum”
- Gerald Tremblay, Mayor of Montreal and Chair of Montreal Metropolitan Community, Canada
- Kumi Naidoo, Chief Executive, CIVICUS
Development Cooperation Forum roundtables, Tuesday Afternoon Session
- A. Identifying gaps and obstacles: “Aid effectiveness agenda: towards consensus at Accra and Doha”
  - Trevor Manuel, Minister of Finance, South Africa and Special Envoy for the Doha Review Conference
  - George Y. Gyan-Baffour, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Ghana (via teleconference)
  - Eckhard Deutscher, Chair, OECD/DAC
  - Ramesh Singh, Chief Executive, Action Aid International
Closing of the Development Cooperation Forum
- Concluding remarks by Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Secretary-General, UNDESA
- Summary statement by Léo Mérorès, President of ECOSOC

Annotaded Agenda

Report of the Secretary-General on Trends and progress in international development cooperation (E/2008/69)

Background Studies

As part of the substantive preparations for the 2008 Development Cooperation Forum (DCF), the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations commissioned a number of background studies reviewing trends and progress in international development cooperation. These studies have, along with the preparatory events, informed the analytical background report of the Secretary-General which will be considered by the Forum.

The studies focused on four topics:

Mainstreaming international development goals

The study assesses the degree to which internationally agreed development goals have been mainstreamed into aid policies of donors and poverty reduction strategies of programme countries. The study also reviews the current mechanisms used by the international community to assess the quality of these strategies and the extent to which they take the goals into account [link].

Practices and implications of aid allocation

The two studies examine the practices and implications of bilateral and multilateral donors allocating development assistance to programme countries. In addition to focusing on three main issues: current aid allocation practices, priorities of various aid allocation models and possible implications of concentrating aid, the studies give an overview of how future aid allocation may be affected by challenges relating to climate change. [link 1] [link 2]

Towards a strengthened aid effectiveness framework

The studies undertaken provide a comprehensive analysis of what could constitute an improved framework for aid effectiveness. They review and assess the Paris framework, identify additional potential issues and indicators, suggest priorities and propose a feasible strategy for the DCF in moving forward the aid quality and aid effectiveness agenda in cooperation with other institutions [link].

South-South and triangular development cooperation

The study aims to provide an overview of South-South and triangular development cooperation with regard to definitions, scale, scope and actors as well as quality, results and impact [link].

Information for participants