11 September 2012
UNGA Spotlights Macroeconomic Policies for Sustainable Development and MDGs
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The UNGA President noted that this year's Development Dialogue will feed into the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the Open Working Group on the SDGs.

Al-Nasser said he had designated Brazil's Permanent Representative to the UN, Maria Luisa Viotti, as his facilitator for the SDG process, and called for flexibility and compromise from all States.

10 September 2012: The Development Dialogue of the 66th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) took place on 10 September 2012, at UN Headquarters in New York, US, on the theme of “Macroeconomic policies for the Future We Want: Sustainable Development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals” (MDGs). The annual dialogue assesses progress toward reaching the MDGs by 2015.

Jan Eliasson, UN Deputy Secretary-General, speaking on behalf of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, called for a broad, sustainable vision of overcoming the financial crisis, creating jobs and protecting the environment. In planning for this, he urged that more resources be allocated to full employment, education, health and environmental protection.

UNGA President Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser said macro-economic policymaking can lead to stability, employment and decent work, and productive capacities, including in the green economy. A revision of macroeconomic policymaking along these lines is crucial for achieving the MDGs and thereby advancing sustainable development, and must be considered as part of post-2015 development agenda, he said.

Al-Nasser noted that the dialogue results will feed into the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP) and the Open Working Group (OWG) on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Recalling the outcome of the UN Conference on Sustainable Developent (UNCSD, or Rio+20) on developing and defining the SDGs, Al-Nasser said he had designated Brazil’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Maria Luisa Viotti, as his facilitator for the process, and called for flexibility and compromise from all States.

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Shamshad Akhtar, moderated the interactive session. Nancy Birdsall, Centre for Global Development, gave a guest lecture. [UN Press Release] [Statement of UNGA President] [Webcast of Dialogue]

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