MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Billson
The Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Bruce Billson will lead an Australian delegation to attend a UN High Level Dialogue on Financing for Development and the High Level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in New York from 24 June - 3 July.
'This is an important forum for Australia to focus on possible outcomes of the UN Summit on the Millennium Declaration in September and reinforce our commitment to growth, trade and governance reform to meet the challenges faced by developing countries, especially those in our Asia Pacific region,' Mr Billson said.
'I will be highlighting to the international community Australia's effective approach to successful aid delivery, in particular that broad-based economic growth must be at the centre of any strategy to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
'In New York and Washington DC, I will also meet with our major development partners, including the World Bank, UNICEF, the Asian Development Bank and other bilateral donors to outline Australia's aid priorities and engage with them on the AusAID White Paper.
'The White Paper is an excellent opportunity to examine the future direction of Australia's aid program and strengthen the effectiveness of Australian aid delivery through rigorous discussion on key governance, poverty and growth challenges in our region,' Mr Billson said.
Australia is supporting the important participation by our Pacific neighbours by funding representatives from Tuvalu, Solomon Islands and Samoa to attend the ECOSOC. This contribution will enable the Pacific to have a strong voice in international discussions about poverty reduction and development.
Media inquiries:
Shane Fairlie (Mr Billson's office) 0408 680 442
AusAID (Public Affairs) 0417 680 590