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A major component of the international community's drive toward the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals is given by the spectrum of issues commonly subsumed under the rubric of "financing for development" (FFD). Inherent to this broad agenda is the acknowledgement that it would be unimaginable for developing countries to advance in their development paths without adequate resources and financial support.
These include traditional sources of development financing such as foreign direct investments (FDIs), official development assistance (ODA), and debt relief, as well as a host of innovative schemes that have emerged in recent years. The FFD agenda also includes larger questions of economic management at the national level, as well as systemic issues such as the governance of international finance and of international organizations like the Bretton Woods institutions. Last but not least, the FFD agenda also includes the intractable question of trade liberalization and its linkages to development.
The Doha Review Conference, that took place from 29 November to 2 December 2008, was a major United Nations event. It assessed the implementation of the first groundbreaking international agreement on financing for development, the so-called Monterrey Consensus of 2002. It also charted the future course of the FFD agenda for years to come. The International Conference concluded with an outcome document negotiated by governments at the United Nations.
In keeping with its commitment to cooperate with the United Nations on this important set of issues, the IPU invited members of parliament to attend the Doha Review Conference as part of their national delegations. It also organized a half-day Parliamentary Hearing on 28 November 2008 to allow members of parliament present in Doha to come together as a group and share their impressions of the proposed Outcome Document. FFD experts and key negotiators of that document were on hand to help shed further light on the various issues.
The IPU also addressed to the International Conference a political message, adopted at the 119th IPU Assembly (13-15 October 2008).
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