ISSUE 42: JUNE-AUGUST 2006
network of research and training centres/programmes
FRONT PAGE | ARCHIVE |
Experts discuss 'global partnership for
eradicating poverty'
On March 31, the Delegation of the European Commission to Japan and United Nations University jointly organized a high-level international conference on the need for a global partnership for development and the eradication of poverty.
This sixth conference in the annual EU-UNU Tokyo Global Forum series brought together prominent experts from a variety of fields to explore issues under the theme of Doing More, Better, and Faster: A Global Partnership for Eradicating Poverty.
Representatives of the European Union and the United Nations, and Japanese policymakers and practitioners discussed the current situation and exchanged their experiences and perspectives on how to meet the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) challenge of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.
 |
|
Hirojuki
Nagahama, a member of Japan's House |
The UN and the EU have been major driving forces for the process of reaching the MDGs, and Japanese foreign policy has poverty eradication and development among its top priorities. The 2006 EU-UNU Tokyo Global Forum provided an opportunity for the EU, the UN, and Japan to exchange views, resulting in an interaction reflecting the close co-operation that exists and sparking further topics for collaboration and cooperation.
The keynote speakers were Nobutaka Machimura, member of the Japan House of Representatives and former Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Hugh Richardson, deputy director-general of the Europe aid cooperation office of the European Commission.
Following the keynote session, there were consecutive sessions covering Development and Trade, Development, Democracy and Human Rights, Development and Security and Development and Environment. Speakers included:
- Ambassador Bouna Semou Diouf, director of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Programme, Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP;
- Karel Kovanda, deputy director-general, DG External Relations, European Commission;
- Takahiro Shinyo, director-general global issues, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- Luisa Morgantini, member of the European Parliament; and
- Hiroyuki Nagahama, member of the Japan House of Representatives.
The conference served as a creative arena for a discussion on strengthening ongoing international efforts for poverty eradication.
© 2006 United Nations University