NEW YORK, NY, March 7, 2009: Ambassador Camillo Gonsalves of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines welcomed the adoption of a Resolution that established the arrangements for a United Nations Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development. The Conference will be held at UN Headquarters in New York from June 1-3, 2009. Ambassador Gonsalves and his counterpart Frank Majoor of the Netherlands, as co-facilitators of the Conference's preparatory process, were involved in the lengthy negotiations that resulted in the Resolution.

Speaking to the General Assembly after consensus adoption of the Resolution, Ambassador Gonsalves read a joint statement of the co-facilitators, which pledged to conduct the preparations in "full regard" of the provision that the process be led by Member States and result in an outcome to be agreed by Member States. "We consider the resolution to be a carefully calibrated and balanced document, designed to engender the support of all Member States. No single paragraph should be read in isolation, because such an approach would detract from the totality of the good-faith compromises and concessions made by all Member States to date," he stressed.

"In the midst of the most serious economic downturn since the Great Depression, we now have the opportunity and the responsibility to search for solutions that take into account the interests of all nations, the rich and the poor, the large and the small," Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto stated after the 192-member body adopted a resolution on the 1 to 3 June summit.

Mr. D'Escoto has been tasked with organizing the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development, which was called for by participants at a financing for development meeting held in Qatar in late 2008.

Last month, he traveled to a number of countries to build support for participation at the highest level in the June meeting, and he plans to visit several more in the weeks ahead.

"In agreeing to hold this United Nations conference at the highest level, Member States are recognizing the vital importance of assuring that all nations have an opportunity to participate equally and fully in the common search for solutions that meet the concerns and needs of all countries, large and small," said Mr. D'Escoto.

He stressed that, in this effort, it is vital to draw on "technical expertise and practical wisdom" from all over the world, and from countries at every stage of development, as well as from international organizations, academia, private sector organizations, and civil society.

In addition to the impact of the crisis on development, the conference will also focus on ongoing discussions on reforming and strengthening the international financial and economic system and architecture.

A Commission of Experts appointed by Mr. D'Escoto and chaired by Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz has stated that international finance structures must be drastically overhauled in the face of the current global economic crisis.

The panel, as well as the meeting later this month of the Economic and Social Council with the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organisation (WTO), are expected to contribute to the preparations for the June summit.

Mr. D'Escoto, in collaboration with Ambassadors Gonsalves and Majoor, will likely circulate a draft outcome text for the summit for negotiation in early May.