Foreign Trade and Development Minister Lehtomäki to ECOSOC meeting

Press release 150/2004
24 June, 2004

Foreign Trade and Development Minister Paula Lehtomäki will participate in the UN Economic and Social Council’s (ECOSOC) high-level segment in New York beginning on Monday, 28 June. Finland is the President of ECOSOC.

The theme of the meeting this year is “Resources mobilization and enabling environment for poverty eradication”. The meeting will focus on the implementation of the programme of action adopted at the third conference for least developed countries hosted by the EU in 2001.

The objective is to study the situation of the least developed countries on a wider base, not just finance issues, such as development aid, debt relief and investments as well trade-related issues, but also other key areas, such as good governance, democracy, equality, human rights and social services.

Minister Lehtomäki will address the meeting on Finland’s behalf on Monday, 28 June. She will also participate in roundtable discussions on “Attracting foreign direct investment in LDCs” and “IT infrastructure for nations and businesses: key to global economic, business and social development”.

In conjunction with the ECOSOC meeting, a side event on the Finnish-Tanzanian initiative on global governance, the Helsinki Process, will be organised and Minister Lehtomäki will meet her Tanzanian counterpart Jakaya Kikwete, the co-chair of the high-level Helsinki Group. The minister will return to Finland on Thursday, 1 July.

Further information: Okko-Pekka Salmimies, Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, gsm +358 40 735 6545

High-level segment´s programme(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
ECOSOC website(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)
Helsinki Process website(Link to another website.) (Opens New Window)