European leaders must lead from the front
The National, 19 June, 2013
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, at the 2013 Brussels Economic Forum Third Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa Lecture on 19 June 2013, said that “the economic crisis in Europe is in reality the backdrop of a wider and deeper European crisis: a crisis in the very soul of European integration”. He added that “European leaders must lead from the front and they must start soon”.
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Aid for Trade Global Review
WTO News, 18 June, 2013
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, in a speech to the Committee on Trade and Development Workshop on the 2013 Aid for Trade Monitoring and Evaluation Exercise on 18 June 2013, said that preparations are on track for the 4th Global Review of Aid for Trade to be held on 8-10 July 2013. He noted that 36 ministers and heads of agency are expected to participate in the review, which will have 24 plenary sessions and 31 side events. “Over 800 pages of analysis have been prepared for the review”, he added.
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UN’s sustainable development blueprint on how to end poverty
The National, 18 June, 2013
The UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon is mobilising global action around the great challenge of our time: sustainable development. It is a call that the world must heed. It is no longer good enough for economies simply to grow. We must also end extreme poverty, a goal within reach by 2030. We must manage the economy to protect rather than destroy the environment. And we must promote a fairer distribution of prosperity, rather than a society divided between the very rich and the very poor.
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World economic group calls for global exchange of tax information to fight evasion
The Washington Post, 18 June, 2013
A top world economic group has called for the creation of a global system to automatically funnel financial information about individuals and companies from countries where their earnings and investments are located to jurisdictions where they might owe taxes. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is spearheading an effort to curb tax evasion by individuals and close some controversial tax loopholes for corporations, said that the foundation of such a system is already emerging because of reporting requirements newly imposed by the United States.
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G8 leaders call for fiscal flexibility in bid to boost global economy
The Irish Time, 17 June, 2013
World leaders meeting at the G8 summit in Co Fermanagh have called for flexibility in fiscal policy as they seek to overcome weak prospects for the global economy. The call by the leaders of the Group of Eight major powers came ahead of talks tomorrow at the Lough Erne Resort near Enniskillen to tackle tax evasion by big business and aggressive tax avoidance.
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Aid for Trade to support closer Caribbean integration
WTO News, 11 June, 2013
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, at the launch of the Caribbean Regional Aid For Trade Strategy in Port au Prince, Haiti on 11 June 2013, said: “Today intra-Caribbean trade stands at just 13% which, as CARICOM itself notes, is on average, at 46 % below its trade potential. There are tremendous opportunities for increasing the role of trade in the region’s growth. The strategy we are launching today, with its focus on maritime transport, ICT and energy will be a central pillar in supporting closer economic integration.”
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Gender equality and empowerment are crucial in the fight against world poverty
The Herald, 10 June, 2013
In 2005, Scotland hosted the G8 in Gleneagles where world leaders made the historic pledge to “Make poverty history”. Eight years on, the UK is again hosting leaders, this time in Northern Ireland, so it seems appropriate to reflect on how far we’ve come in reaching that goal.
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A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development, UN Report
Sudan Vision, 10 June, 2013
The High Level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda established by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released on 30 May 2013, in the United Nations Head Quarters in New York the “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development,”..
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Indian economy stuck in maze
The Asian Age, 10 June, 2013
In 2013-14, GDP growth is expected to recover from last year’s lows. The recovery however, critically hinges on normal monsoons, which would lift consumption growth. If the monsoons fail and agricultural GDP does not grow, the overall GDP growth may not improve much over the last year.
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