UN moot to tackle global economic crisis today

UNITED NATIONS - A major high-level United Nations conference aimed at tackling the global economic
meltdown and its effects on the developing world is set to kick off on Wednesday at the world bodys
Headquarters in New York.
Lets hope and lets continue praying that we will have a conference that is up to the exigencies of the gravity of
the crisis confronting humankind, General Assembly President Miguel DEscoto, the events organiser, told a
press conference Tuesday.
DEscoto also told reporters that he was relieved that a revised outcome document for adoption at the end of
the three-day meeting has been finalized, stressing that the gathering is not concerned with the good of some,
but the good of all.
The UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development aims to assess
the worst global economic downturn since the Great Depression, providing a uniquely inclusive forum to
address issues of urgent concern to all nations, according to the summits website.
As of now, 126 countries have voiced their willingness to send high-level delegations to the UN conference,
including heads of state or government from Barbados, Philippines, Serbia, Venezuela and Togo, 31 ministers
from such countries as Algeria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, India and United Kingdom, the spokesman for the
General Assembly president, Enrique Yeves, told reporters.
The Pakistan delegation will be led by State Bank governor Syed Salim Raza, who arrived in New York on
Monday.
A commission of experts - established by DEscoto and compromised of economists and finance officials from
all regions - submitted recommendations on immediate and longer-term measures relating to the global financial
system, as well as practical proposals for reforming the international financial architecture, which helped form the
basis of the draft outcome document.
The Assembly President underscored the need for leaders to help the worlds developing countries, which had
no hand in creating the crisis, to cope with the global recession, noting that the World Bank recently predicted
that the consequences of this crisis among the most vulnerable, those that dont have safety nets, is going to be
devastating.
The World Bank projects a finance gap of up to $700 billion in these countries, resulting in additional deaths of
1.5 to 2.8 million infants by 2015 and more than 100 million people tipping over into extreme poverty each year
for the duration of the crisis, the summits website states.
This meeting leaves no doubt that the proper and most fitting venue to discuss this type of problem is the
United Nations, said Mr. DEscoto. After all, were talking about global problems and they should be discussed
globally.
DEscoto was tasked with organizing the summit by Member States during the follow-up International
Conference