WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Henrietta Fore, Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will lead the U.S. government delegation to the Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus in Doha, Qatar from November 29 - December 2, 2008. Recognizing that the current financial crisis particularly affects the developing countries of the world, the timeliness of this conference is significant.

As mandated by a United Nations resolution, the goals of the conference are to review the progress made and reaffirm the commitments of the 2002 Monterrey Consensus, which developed a framework for financing development in order to achieve sustainable economic growth.

The Monterrey Consensus helped establish a shared vision for development that gives to recipient countries primary responsibility for their own development. It also recognized the importance of local ownership, accountability and an integrated approach to financing for development, to include not only higher levels of official development assistance, but also other equally important and often financially larger sources of financing, including domestic resources, trade, investment and debt relief.

There have been many notable financing for development successes since the 2002 Monterrey Consensus and this conference will encourage best practice discussions. The conference will also serve as a platform to reaffirm global development assistance commitments and urge both developed and emerging economies to undertake these commitments in order to continue to lift individuals and countries out of poverty.

The U.S. delegation will be made up of senior level representatives from USAID, the U.S. Departments of State, Commerce, Treasury, Health and Human Services, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the U.S. Embassy in Qatar. International representation will consist of those from the development and financial communities.

Additionally, as part of the on-going global discussions surrounding the development community, including discussions regarding the current, global financial situation, earlier today, Fore also attended the annual European Development Days forum in Strasbourg, France. Represented by over 1,200 organizations, this European Commission event serves as a platform for debating the major issues of development cooperation and the launch of new initiatives.

For more information about USAID, please visit www.usaid.gov.

The American people, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, have provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for nearly 50 years.

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SOURCE U.S. Agency for International Development