Participants to the DAC High Level Meeting will discuss the complex challenges of reducing poverty which are underlined by a range of current issues of wide concern such as violent conflict, illegal migration, the digital divide and pharmaceutical pricing. The DAC has prepared guidelines to assist donors as they seek to make their policies more effective, in four important areas. The Guidelines include an illustrative checklist on policy coherence for poverty reduction to encourage and assist efforts by OECD countries to improve consistency and exploit synergies across the range of their policies that impact on development progress. The widespread recurrence of violent conflict and its ruinous impact demand that donors renew their commitment to building peace. Meeting participants will also discuss what strategies and instruments are effective in approaching the problems of co-operation with developing countries whose citizens are suffering under regimes with severe governance problems.
Trade is essential to dynamic and sustainable development.
New DAC Guidelines on Capacity Development for Trade will help to shape co-operation with partner countries for building trade capacities and participating effectively in the institutions that shape the global economy. Achieving sustainable development in partner countries, where there has been much recent deterioration of the soil, water and biodiversity, is crucial. The DAC Guidelines on Sustainable Development Strategies acknowledge that this will require deep structural changes in the economy, society and politics and urges the international community to work coherently to eliminate poverty through sustainable development. The High Level Meeting will also seek to adopt a Recommendation on the Untying of Aid to Least Developed Countries. The other OECD countries have been invited to participate as observers.