Minister of Finance, Dr Ashni Singh attended the 6th Meeting of finance ministers of the Americas and the Caribbean and the 2014 Commonwealth finance ministers meeting held recently in Washington DC to discuss economic and development issues currently confronting the global community.
The Ministry of Finance in a press release said, Singh and his colleagues at the meeting of the Americas and Caribbean focused on hemispheric
macro-economic challenges and the need for greater integration in inter-regional trade. Singh said he welcomed discussions on regional integration and resolving impediments to integration such as infrastructural and financing gaps as a priority.
The Commonwealth meeting on the other hand, the release said, discussed the findings of the report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing which is mainly an exploration of options for mobilising resources to achieve sustainable development goals. The ministers were updated on the committee’s ideas for funding social and economic development.
Among other topics discussed, the ministers discussed proposals for reform specifically to improve ways of mobilising, measuring, and monitoring the effectiveness of Official Development Assistance, the release said. More than that, the release mentioned, the ministers discussed issues such as the political will for the making of a successful 3rd UN Financing for Development Conference to be convened in Addis Ababa in July 2015.
At the meeting, the release said, Singh called on the developed nations to meet their obligations to small states in committing 0.7 % of GNI Official Developmental Assistance which he believes is under met. In addition, Singh called on the developed nations to meet their committed levels of assistance to developing countries in a timely manner. Guyana hosted the 2007 Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting in 2007.
