G20 to hold ministerial meeting on development in Washington

PARIS: Finance and cooperation ministers from the Group of Twenty (G20) will gather in Washington on Sept. 23 on food security, infrastructures and innovative financing for development, the French Finance Ministry said Thursday.

Cochaired by French Finance Minister Francois Baroin and attached Minister for Foreign and European Affair Henri de Raincourt, it will be the first G20 ministerial-level meeting on development.

"The goal of the meeting is to offer a shared vision and a concrete action plan for meeting the new challenges faced by Southern countries," according to a statement issued by the French Finance Ministry.

Food security, infrastructures and innovative financing for development are three main pillars to dominate the G20 ministerial meeting on development and a consequent action plan will focus on them.

Regarding food security, "the meeting is expected to decide on ways to increase sustainable agricultural production in developing countries."

About infrastructures, the talk is aim to mobilize and coordinate multilateral development banks to expand financing sources for large infrastructure projects in developing countries and to implement those projects; and a report drafted by Bill Gates on ways to finance new development needs and roles of emerging economies will also be discussed.

According to the ministry, host of the 2011 G20, an action plan concluding the ministerial meeting will be submitted to the G20 summit scheduled for Nov. 4, 2011 in Cannes.

Copyright NNI (News Network International), 2011