Experts Offer Views on Economic Aspects of IFSD
The Permanent Missions of Belgium and Tanzania to the UN co-hosted an informal discussion on the institutional framework for sustainable development (IFSD), with a focus on economic aspects. IFSD is one of the two themes of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), and the discussion was convened with the aim of contributing to the intergovernmental preparatory process.
Offering views on concrete options for institutional reform were five panelists: Antonio Prado, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); Elliot Harris, International Monetary Fund (IMF); Michael T. Clark, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Samuel Tumiwa, Asian Development Bank (ADB); and Henry de Cazotte, UNCSD Secretariat.
The interactive discussion with delegates in attendance addressed: strengthening coordination at the regional level; strengthening cooperation at the technical level, between international organizations, and other forms of integration between the UN and Bretton Woods Institutions (BWIs); the future of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), including membership reform, subsidiarity and the relationship with the Group of 20 (G20); and improving integration of sustainable development’s three pillars.
Summarizing the discussion, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Tanzania said better policy making at all levels could help to streamline sustainable development in the context of other processes.
The discussion was the first in a planned series on IFSD. Further meetings in the series will focus on the social and environmental pillars of sustainable development, according to the Permanent Representative of Belgium.
Article originally published at www.uncsd2012.org
