RP PARTICIPATES IN HIGH-LEVEL ECOSOC MEETING  

19 July 2007 — Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York Ambassador Hilario G. Davide, Jr. reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that the Philippines actively participated in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) High Level Segment that concluded on 10 July 2007 in Geneva , Switzerland .  

Ambassador Davide said that the ECOSOC meeting tackled issues of importance to developing countries such as global partnerships, external debt, technology transfer, official development assistance, trade and climate change.  

“There was wide support for consolidating efforts and strengthening partnerships among various sectors towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), particularly the first goal of eradicating poverty by 2015,” Ambassador Davide reported.  

In a statement during the Annual Ministerial Review, Philippine representative National Economic Development Administration (NEDA) Director General and Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Romulo L. Neri underlined the achievements made by the Philippines , notably its on-track implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.  Secretary Neri, in particular, emphasized that the Philippines will most likely meet the MDG targets on poverty, dietary energy requirement and nutrition by 2015.  

Secretary Neri informed the meeting participants of Philippi ne success in poverty eradication, the subsistence incidence having fallen to 10.2% in 2003 from 20.4% in 1991, effectively already meeting the specific target of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty between 1990 and 2015.  

The Philippines has also implemented numerous Plans of Action that contain interventions to alleviate hunger and malnutrition, both on the demand and the supply side.  

At the end of his statement, Secretary Neri also conveyed Philippi ne support for environmental initiatives, saying “Growth is sustainable only if the physical environment is nurtured and protected.  We have acknowledged the serious harm of excessive carbon emission into the atmosphere; thus, the Philippines associates itself with efforts committed to global warming.”  

During the High Level Segment, the Philippine delegation likewise took on lead roles during the Roundtable Discussions on Poverty Eradication and Roundtable Breakfast on Innovative Business, both chaired by Secretary Neri; and the Roundtable Discussion on South-South Cooperation (Cooperation Development Forum), chaired by Ambassador Davide.  END

/jay

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