Al-Nasr receives invitation to visit Dominican Republic

HE the President of the United Nations General Assembly  Nasser bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Nasser has received an official invitation President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez to visit Santo Domingo to participate in the celebration marking the success of an important initiative by the Dominican Delegation to the United Nations General Assembly: the consultations and final adoption, by consensus, on December 22, of resolution 66/188, on "Excessive Price Volatility in Food and Related Financial and Commodity Markets". HE Al-Nasr paid a visit to Santo Domingo at the end of this week during which he gave a speech on how to address the "Excessive Price Volatility in Food and Related Financial and Commodity Markets" in which he said the Dominican's initiative has been a very constructive contribution to the General Assembly s deliberations on the ongoing impact of the global economic and financial crisis. Particularly, it has addressed the need for strengthening international policy and regulatory coordination in that field, Al-Nasr said. The aim of the resolution 66/188 is to enhance coordination of international policies and to coordinate regulations in the international economic and financial orders. The UN General Assembly President said "International efforts to resolve the crisis and address its root causes have had important, but rather limited success so far. We have all accepted to allow markets to play an enlarged role in shaping economic decision-making. But we have also learned, in recent years, that effective regulation and coordinated policy responses are imperative to keep markets running smoothly. "Now we understand that all nations are hindered by a system of global economic governance that was established more than 60 years ago. During that time, the system has not been adequately updated to keep pace with the fundamentally changed geopolitical and economic realities that prevail today. "The United Nations cannot be marginalized in a proper system of global economic governance. The United Nations remains the most universal and inclusive multilateral forum. More than ever, the world needs the UN s unparalleled capability to generate legitimate agreements and effective collective action. "We must keep this in mind if we are to successfully address the daunting economic and development challenges the world faces today. "At the heart of the UN, the General Assembly must remain seized of the economic and financial crisis in all its aspects. That is why I have proposed "Sustainable Development and Global Prosperity" as one of the key areas for the General Assembly to focus its work on, during this 66th session. In that context, I have designated co-facilitators to lead open and inclusive consultations on how best to follow-up on the Financial Crisis Conference of 2009. I also intend to convene a high-level thematic debate on the state of the world economy. "I am delighted by the convergence between the interests of President Fernandez in this field and my own vision for the work of the General Assembly. During the opening of the 66th Session of the General Assembly, President Fernandez called upon the international community to recognize that commodity derivatives markets have increased the volatility of food and related commodity prices. It is clear that some financial activities can have negative effects across the globe," Al-Nasr said.