UN's Ban urges G-20 summit participants to focus on development

[News_Editor]

UN's Ban urges G-20 summit participants to focus on development

2010-11-12 08:49:39 GMT+7 (ICT)

SEOUL (BNO NEWS) -- United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday urged leaders participating in the G-20 summit in Seoul to focus on improving the lives of the most vulnerable people and on developmental goals such as eradicating poverty and hunger.

Ban said that the promises made during the Korean National Assembly's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Forum must be fulfilled. The MDGs consist in eight internationally-agreed targets which aim at reducing poverty, hunger, maternal and child deaths, disease, inadequate shelter, gender inequality and environmental degradation.

Last September, 140 heads of State and government renewed their commitment to fulfill the MDGs and set a target date of 2015. The Secretary-General remarked that with five years left, strong leadership, smart investments and financial resources are needed to achieve the goals.

"The MDGs are about building sustainability, building global growth, building a better world," said the UN Secretary-General. "The economic crisis should not be an excuse to do less. It is a reason to do more. We must be accountable to the most vulnerable."

Ban will address the G-20 leaders on Friday and is expected to discuss the MDGs progress as well as urging leaders to invest in development as it is an issue of utmost importance for every state.

The UN Secretary-General also highlighted that the global economic recovery remains fragile as 64 million people were pushed into extreme poverty this year. Ban added that the world cannot afford to think narrowly about development and economic growth.

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