UN General Assembly
2007

Iceland stands ready to shoulder its responsibility. Our ODA has doubled over the past four years and we aim to be among the top ODA contributors. Increased aid effectiveness is central to development results. The Government of Iceland believes that the United Nations should be at the forefront of such efforts. We support the follow-up of the report of the High-level Panel on System-wide Coherence (A/61/583), which in our view will make the United Nations more effective in delivering results on the ground. ODA is of course not a panacea. We need to make progress in international trade negotiations. When I had the privilege of attending the meeting of the African Union in Accra this summer, I was made aware by colleagues of the tremendous potential that African countries see in closer integration across that continent. In a globalized world closer regional cooperation and integration, including trade relations, has, in our experience, been a step towards a better future, a joint investment of nation States in their common well- being. Iceland pledges full political support to our