The International Conference on Financing for Development held in Monterrey, Mexico, has ended with a remarkable display of optimism. Commitments have been made by the rich nations to the poor.
Goals have been set for what has been described as a renewed assault on poverty.
Attempts will be made to bring an end to the AIDS epidemic which has been especially devastating in Africa; to provide primary-school education throughout the developing world and, by 2015, to halve the number of people living on less than $1 per day. At present 1.2 billion people - almost four times the population of the Euro zone - face each day at that paltry level of subsistence.
The conference, which was the brainchild of UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, brought together for the first time in such a forum: the UN, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation. Monterrey saw world leaders reach a consensus that affluent nations have an obligation to provide aid and to remove punitive trade barriers against third-world countries. Commitments from the United States and the European Union provided the main basis for optimism.
At present, the US gives $10 billion annually in aid and has pledged to give a further $10 billion over the next three years. The EU gives $25 billion annually and proposes to raise this gradually over the next four years to reach a yearly figure of $32 billion.
For their part, the poor countries agreed to ensure that the money was spent effectively. President Bush made it clear that aid from his country would be tied to economic, political and legal reforms in the recipient countries.
It is unfortunate that the consensus reached at Monterrey has come at a time of economic difficulty for many countries. Japan, the world's largest donor nation, has been unable to promise increased aid because of its own economic problems. Progress at Monterrey on the reduction of debt which has crippled the economies of third-world countries was disappointing. However, Mr Annan can be justifiably satisfied with the results of his campaign so far. It is to be hoped that the spirit of humanitarian solidarity emerging from Monterrey will carry over to the next summit in Johannesburg in August where practical plans to achieve the new goals are to be devised.