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Report on the Business for Millennium Development Summit 2008
held at Park Hyatt Hotel, Melbourne, 24 October 2008
Australia’s private sector met with international economics and development experts to launch a new path for Australian business at the inaugural Business for Millennium Development (B4MD) Summit in Melbourne.
Co-hosted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), AusAid and B4MD, the Summit was opened by the Honourable Stephen Smith MP, Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Minister Smith said, “Since 2000, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have given the international community a focus for its development assistance.”
“The global financial crisis will have an adverse impact on both developed and developing countries and will make it even harder to achieve the MDGs. The Australian Government is committed to maintaining its development assistance effort in the face of this crisis.”
“Development assistance alone, however, will not be enough. Economic growth remains the only long term solution to poverty. Business will play a key role in advancing that growth. I commend the Australian business leaders attending the B4MD Summit and look forward to working with them towards the achievement of the MDGs,” Mr. Smith said.
Since its inception in 2007, B4MD, a specially formed powerhouse of Australia’s business leaders, has been working with Australian business to profitably extend their core operations into their developing neighbours. B4MD was officially launched (this evening) at the Summit.
“Business for Millennium Development will provide a leadership forum for Australian business to operate, innovate and grow in true partnership with the developing communities in which they operate,” said Simon McKeon, chairman, B4MD.
“The Australian economy is inextricably linked with those of our neighbours. Over half of Australia's international trade is already with developing countries in Asia, and international indicators point to further growth in the region.
Engagement with developing Asian economies offers great opportunity for innovative Australian companies, at the same time as offering hope to the 690 million people living in extreme poverty, defined by the World Bank as living on less than US$1 a day, in the Asia Pacific region,” said McKeon.
“This current economic crisis threatens hard won economic gains and efforts to eradicate poverty in developing countries, said Bruce Jenks, UNDP Assistant Administrator. “These countries could be hit twice by the crisis, finding it more difficult to get access to funding and seeing a dramatic drop in exports as the crisis decreases demand. Now, more than ever, these issues need to be dealt with in a multilateral setting and new partnerships need to be developed, including those with the private sector.”
The Global Partnership for the Business Call to Action builds upon the UN’s Global Compact initiative for responsible globalisation, which has already brought together 5,000 businesses from more than 130 countries.
Click here for a report by SPC member Bill Frilay
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